Blog
A Prayer for Solidarity
The earthquake that devastated Japan has left the world shaken and terrified. Those who previously scoffed at predictions of the world coming to an end have now begun to believe strongly. CNN, BBC, social networks: the news is updated every other minute but it is the ruins left behind that are breaking us inside. There is not much, almost nothing we can do, and we can't help but get affected. Today, we are not living in a happy world.
My sister's professor back in Japan had sent an email asking the recipients to spread a good story he shared. While he himself is in Japan, worse, Tokyo, he wanted people all around the world to feel better for Japan. He wanted us to know that even when the country is in ruins a sense of humanity is rising. It's beautiful and encouraging. But the sad fact is that not many seem interested in the 'good’ stories.
While we are shaken inside and weak in our knees in front of our TVs and computer screens, the Japanese are being brave. They have accepted the earthquake as a life changing disaster. They know things are not coming back to normal any time soon and it might take them decades to recover, but they also know that life goes on. The Earth hasn't come to a halt. Yes, they are heartbroken, a lot of their country is in ruins and they have lost too many fellow countrymen. But instead of mourning they are warming up for a New Beginning, they are smiling through tears and holding hands for a better future. They know their future is not going to be better than yesterday, but they believe it's going go be better than today.
We all care and wish there was something we could do. And we can. We can stop reacting this way, scared and helpless, praying for the destruction to come to an end. Prayers don't really work when we are scared ourselves. The Japanese are not going to get more strength to fight from weak prayers. There's all this destruction and on top of it, our fear. There's just so much negative energy going around.
We often underestimate our species. What we see but don't realize is that human beings develop coping mechanisms over time. The Japanese have seen earthquakes before and they have prepared for more. While we are falling apart, they are supporting each other to maintain composure. And at times like these, positive energy is urgent and important. They appreciate the fact that we are affected too and that we care but they want us to pray for their strength to survive the disaster and its aftermath and for their speedy recovery. So I'd appreciate if at least a single person reading this starts taking this whole disaster differently and starts praying to boost people's strength rather than praying to foil the force of destruction, which is always in nature's hand. And yes, there is a difference between these prayers.
