Fundamentally the Same

I had intended to write a series of blog posts centered around my friend, E's, visit to France.  I still intend on doing that but I cannot write about that today.  It seems too indulgent to reminisce about good times when there is an overwhelming amount of sorrow happening in the world right at this moment. 

I cannot stop thinking about what has occurred in Japan this weekend and the suffering that is still happening today.  I don't personally know anyone who is there, but I still feel like it is happening to someone close to me. 

This is an instance where I can clearly see how much my viewpoint has changed in the past year and a half.  If I hadn't moved away from the small area that I had lived in for thirty-four years I would have seen the disaster in Japan and thought, "I am so sorry for them."  I still feel sad, but now I have more of a feeling of "I am so sorry for us." 

I don't want to downplay the suffering and say that I understand what is going on because I have no reference for that.  But since moving to Europe, I feel a part of the larger world.  My distinctions between "us" and "them" have been smudged if not almost completely erased.  I have come to realize that there are no differences important enough to notice between anyone, no matter where in the world they live.  We are all fundamentally the same.  I used to think that I knew that, now I truly understand it.

I am sending out my thoughts and prayers to Japan as well as to all those touched by this tragedy.  The whole world is worse off because of this event.  My heart grieves for so much loss.