Italian Quake

Some thoughts today on the earthquake in Italy.

Somehow it doesn’t seem real. It’s a half world away. We watch the pictures of destruction in disbelief and see rescuers digging for survivors or a loved one to mourn. We report the dead in numbers, not names. We can repair buildings, and roads, but the bodies that held the names are gone forever.

All we can to is embrace the Italian people in our hearts and send relief supplies. Grief is such a painful personal hurt. Sorrow is more universal in its heartache, for it acknowledges on a higher level the collective loss to humankind. How many of the dead numbers were potential scientists, poets, leaders or parents of genius.

Empathy is not only the capacity to understand another’s feelings, it is the willingness to comfort, to cry together and to share the strength of life when so many see nothing but despair and lost hope. Care lets those who hurt know they have not been forgotten by a loving spirit as it manifests itself through a helping hand, a hug or a shared tear.