Prayers and sympathy

I would like to extend my prayers and sympathy to my American neighbours who have been affected by the devestation wrought by Huricane Katrina.

The loss of life from such an event is staggering.

It is at a time like this that we as human beings show our true spirits and the quality of our character; be it good or bad. Amid the destruction and death there are people looting for jewelry and tv's. This is a clear example of a person demonstrating to the world that they are truly selfish and self-centered and are amongst the worst examples of humanity. However the overwhelming response has been for people to come together, to help out their neighbours and strangers alike. These people are showing the world our best qualities.

The level of destruction and loss of human life is staggering and while we will attach dollar figures to it all it pales in comparison to the sense of humility that one is overwhelmed with and the sense of connectedness that springs to life in each of us. Amongst those affected are rich and poor, black and white, male and female. Where before there were divisions of class, race and gender there is now a brief glimpse of community, sharing and caring. For all have been affected and all are in need of help.

It is my sincere hope that through this devestation that these lessons will not be lost. These are lessons that would help to make our world a better place today and tomorrow. Be it those directly affected or those who can only watch the sense of humanity that we all share through such a tragedy would serve us well after the tragedy is just a memory.

It is unfortunate that as human beings we show the great character in coming together in times of need only to allow petty differences to divide us when times are good and everything seems to be going well.

A year ago, here where I live the city was flooded rather badly. There were millions of dollars worth of damage, people were homeless and those affected were as diverse as possible. The city came together and came through the destruction together. People came together to help out by volunteering, by giving food, by housing people, by giving money. However it is unfortunate that a year later that same sense of caring and community has been lost for there are still homeless people, still people who need food, there are still people who need our help.

As people our society will only be as great as our lowliest members. So while we build giant skyscrapers and are able to send people into space we have people dieing in our streets and people who are going hungry. Our apathy towards those in need is lost during a disaster but we need to lose it permanently.

There are people in need today. There will be people in need tomorrow. I hope that the qualities that we are showing today; compassion, caring, sharing, humility, empathy and courage will last beyond today to help those in need tomorrow.