Not Just Think, But Do

It’s been a week (almost), since I last blogged. Let’s see. There’s been a week’s worth of work at the nursing home, six nights slept, and many meals eaten. There’s also been the comfort of a nice home, the company of a good wife, and the great relationships with friends and relatives.
Such has life been here; such has not been life in Haiti. What a tragedy of untold magnitude. Words just can’t describe what is happening there, just as words couldn’t describe Katrina or the Tsunami or other earthquakes or hurricanes. I haven’t a clue why such things happen, nor do I have a clue why bad things happen to good people. Yet, to say, “It is what it is,” seems to be trite and dismissive.
So, do we throw up our collective hands and say something about not being able to fix the world? Or do we stop for a minute, collect ourselves, and ask what we can do? I hope the latter, as it is the collective help of individuals that will truly make a difference, not only in Haiti, but wherever there is calamity.
The earthquake is but the last of untold decades of despair, evil, and catastrophe, both natural and man-caused. While many, many people have been and continue to help places like this in any way they can, the task truly seems gargantuan and that two or three steps back are taken for every step forward.
Yet we continue. We press on. And some of us really do what we can, although many of us could do a lot more. This is a good time to give ourselves an assessment. This is a good time to not just think, but do.