melissa block makes it harder.

as i was eating my orzo and goat cheese salad during dinner, i decided to turn on npr, hoping to hear more about john edwards' latest endorsement. instead, i got an earful of the kqed (local bay area npr) hosts begging me for money (which, by the way, they are pretty compelling). then melissa block came on to tell me a story about some dujiangyan parents looking for their toddler and grandparents in the rubble. she just happen to be reporting in china before tuesday and now she is there reporting stories from the earthquake. it was a very hard twelve minutes, but i encourage you to read the story or figure out a way to listen, if you can.

it's easy to feel helpless and disconnected in a time like this, especially if you're in california where the land of wealth and consumerism are so easily distractible. it's easy to question God or try figure God out (neither, i think, are helpful in these times). and it's especially easy to be angry and do nothing (i encourage the angry part, but not the do nothing part).

i think we have four choices (maybe more, but i'm simplifying for the sake of my simple mind) in situations like this:
a. go about our day and continue to live selfishly (so easy, i know!).
b. pray/think/meditate/whatever it is that you do.
c. give time/money/something.
d. become informed.

it's a good thing that you don't have to just pick one. i'm going with b and d for now. as i've been praying and listening to these stories and reading about this tragedy, it has helped to make the estimated fifteen thousand dead more real. i feel more alive when i hear melissa get teary eyed as she tries to report. even though i am so far away, the least i can do is put a name and a face to a few people and feel with them; empathy, really.

the more informed you are, [i believe] the more alive you are.