Just another Friday...

Just another Friday? Well maybe for me but not for everyone. For some this Friday was full of grief and loss, death even.

This world, it’s never still is it? I don't pray much but I'll make an exception today.

I awoke to the news of this sudden earthquake in Japan and the aftermath of the resulting Tsunami’s and whirlpools - unexpected, catastrophic, terrifying, destructive. I could go on with awful word after awful word but I won’t.

Einstein said; 'In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.' But it's just so hard to see where the opportunity lies when disaster happens.

Sometimes I am amazed and shocked by the uncontrollable nature of our world, and I'm even more amazed and shocked by people's ability to pick themselves out of the wreckage and move on.

I often think about the tens of thousands of Jews who survived the concentration camps and how, left with nothing, they went on to build new lives for themselves in far flung corners of the world.

I can't go into our corner shop without feeling admiration for the hard working Asian family who keep it open almost around the clock. The old man fled Idi Amin's Uganda, leaving with almost nothing and starting again in a strange, cold country where everybody spoke a foreign language.

My neighbours across the road, an ancient Italian couple, were forced out of Libya many years ago and came to live a quiet and separate life in Hale. I know they have seen real horror, but you would never know it from Maria's friendly wave and Julio's polite nod as they pass by.

But perhaps the most shocking thing about all the disasters that happen, that we watch and read about on the television and in the papers, is how very quickly we forget and move on to the next one.

If disaster struck me, an earthquake, genocide, a military coup, a forced exodus. If I were to be thrust into the whirlpool to be spun and spun not knowing where or even if I would ever be still again, would I be able to stand up afterwards, recover from the nausea and build a life once more? Have I the strength and courage?

I like to think I have, but I really do wonder.