Guilt..and a lot of it.
33,000 total dead in Asia. Most of us by now have heard this news. Your head has to be buried in sand not to have seen this news. The news and the images are everywhere. Sad is a very small word which barely describes how I feel right now. Guilt, numbness and a feeling of helplessness is overwhelming me right now. I feel powerless that I’m not able to do anything about what I feel at this moment.
The worse thing is I know this feeling will not last for ever. Few days and I will place it at the back of my head and will go with my life. My interviews, my shopping list for India, my travel arrangements, my…I think you get my point. Even now life goes on, am in a Starbucks cafe having spent some money on a cup of Joe which could buy somebody next meal for the next couple of days.
How does one deal with this guilt? More than anything, how does one deal with the question of Why this had to happen? Why in countries where there is already so much sorrow. People have so little, and now they don’t even have that. Sometimes, the numbers just seen unreal. It was 10,000 dead and now its 33,000, when will the counting stop.
So I spent some time emailing friends on what they can do. It’s a small effort on my part but every penny counts and if my email helps push somebody then I think I succeeded in making a small dent.
A part of me is seriously thinking of just flying down to India right away and being of some help. But what can I do? I’m not a medical person and I can’t seem to think of any way I can help except monetarily. Any ideas? I feel like this all the time when I hear of something sad, give some money and then move on. Is this time any different? Temporary blues, sad but true?
I think most of the people on this planet want to help but taking a moment to do something is what counts in the end. However small that deed might be, just do it! Nobody out there is counting how much you have done. What really counts is what we have done something. Put your money where your mouth is, make a small sacrifice.
Disaster depression is temporary but in this day and age we can be depressed pretty much every day. Some natural if not unnatural act causes pain in lands far and near. So how much can we humans do. As my friend reminded me today “we are human” and we fail. This was said in another context but fits with the mood am in right now.
Time to do something! At least figure out what I can do. Think and then maybe act for once. Or should I be honest and say I will get over this like I have many a times in the past. Does’nt make me a bad person does it. Just human right?
Tags: California
admin
Madhu