haiti

I'm still reeling from the photos of Haiti after the earthquake.

One of my dear friends is Haitian, and she said news is only trickling in slowly. How maddening and frustrating it must be to be thousands of miles away, waiting to hear if loved ones are safe.

These shocking and horrific events also serve to put things in perspective: worrying about something that seemed so important a moment ago suddenly seems silly; we want to reach out to the people we love and tell them how important they are to us; we remember that our time is limited here on this earth, that nothing is guaranteed and that everything we take for granted can disappear in an instant.

The shock and speed of the earthquake's destruction makes us appreciate what (and more importantly, who) we have, and hopefully, by reminding us how lucky we are, it makes us want to help those less fortunate.

It's so easy to feel helpless in these situations, but we can make a difference. Here's a pretty good compilation of ways we can help (from the Huffington Post).

We may not be able to donate millions of dollars individually, but collectively, we can give a lot.