Waking In A Place Of Safety

Most mornings follow the same pattern with me, I get up, make tea and then spend just half an hour or so checking e-mails and catching up with Facebook friends and blogs.  This morning was no different in that respect.  What I read, however, was.  I stumbled upon a blog post by Tammy Vitale, mainly to catch her interview with Effy, of Wild Precious Studios but it was here that I also found yet more evidence of the resilience and dignity of the people of Japan in the face of the devastation caused by the recent Tsunami.  Tammy provided two links to other web posts, A Letter From Sundai and Human Spirit Rises to Meet Japan's Tsunami.  These posts made me really think.  I thought how sad it is that whilst these people react with calm, with love and resilience people in other parts of the world continue to fight, kill and run amok in the name of religion, or for a piece of land, or because they don't like their government.  It made me think how much we take for granted simple things like flicking a switch for instant light or heat; like turning a tap for a hot shower or to get a cool drink; like jumping in our car to pop to the shop for a loaf of bread.  It made me think about how much we moan when we have to go without these for even just one day.  It made me think quite a lot this morning which isn't something I normally do so early!
Tammy also mentioned that her daughter, a teacher, had started a fab project with her kids to raise money for Japan.  An ancient Japanese legend says that if someone folds a 1,000 origami cranes they will be granted one wish by a crane, such as a recovery from a long illness.  The children are making origami cranes and selling them for just $1 each, all the money going to the Japanese Tsunami relief fund.  I, for one, am printing off a PDF file of instructions and forwarding it with a print of Tammy's post to my local High School.  We are a very tiny community and may not make a thousand cranes alone but I figure by posting this if we all did something similar, no matter how small a scale, we could indeed make 1,000 collectively and make a united wish for the recovery of Japan.
Today I feel especially mindful, and grateful too.  On a personal level, I am thankful for the support of all our friends and people in our community who collectively flicked a switch that shone a light at the end of our personal dark tunnel.  I am thankful for the place where we live and the life we have and mindful that perhaps, even for just one day, we should try 100% to not waste anything nor take anything for granted.