Saturday, March 19, 2011

Coping with Catastrophe

My Mother, who will celebrate her 94th birthday in less than two months, has seen a lot in her years.  She endured my Dad's 2 years of absence while fighting in World War II, his battle with cancer and ensuing death in 1986, and the tragic deaths of not only a grandchild but also a great grandchild.  All of this she coped with with incredible stoicism.  She was a rock!    I was shocked and alarmed when I called her the other afternoon and she answered in tears of grief.  She has been glued to her TV, watching every bit of news about Japan's tsunami and earthquake: she is totally undone.  I tried to console her, but she would have none of it.  What to do?  I'm not sure.....are any of us?  

I have a list of my favorite blogs in the sidebar to the right, and am surprised at how little has been written about this disaster over the past week.  Are we all stoics, is it 'out of sight out of mind', or what is it?  I, for one, have kept mum on the subject mainly due to my feeling of complete hopelessness.   I find it difficult to grasp the enormity of the horror and I'm filled with admiration when I read and hear how the Japanese people are coping during this most challenging time.

How are you coping??

PEACE

8 comments:

Cate Rose said...

Judy, I'm coping by paying as little attention to it as possible. It's not that I don't care, it's just that I can't do anything about any of it, so I choose not to focus on it. My life doesn't have to be about the tragedies in Japan. I send all my love and blessings to them, as well as to all the people in other areas of the world that have been and will be caught up in natural disasters and catastrophes. What else can one do, short of sending money, which I don't have to send?
Hope this helps. xox

connie said...

Hi Judy, I have blogged a bit about it and the feeling of helplessness. I just feel this is such an enormous tragedy, it is difficult to wrap our heads around. I find myself waking at night thinking about what they are enduring but I do so agree with you on their dignity and their ability to deal with. We can learn so much from them. Hugs to your mother and You!

Jeannie said...

I think we are all so shocked by the vastness of destruction. I think we are a little bit afraid that it could happen here and we are no where as prepared as Japan. We are also at a loss because we can not do anything when natural disasters occur. We are not in control of Mother Nature or Mother Earth, and that drives us nuts! The courage and strength of the Japanese people has astounded me. They are teaching the world how to face adversity and become stronger. Perhaps you mom feels as I do. After WWII, we helped Japan rebuild. They were small children that we helped grow into the 3rd largest industrial country. Now they suffered a devistating blow and we feel it too. There are lessons to be learned from this event and I hope we learn them.

Eva Hagbjärn said...

I have followed all of this on TV, and I agree with you that it is overwhelming. One can not really understand how serious all this is in Japan. Poor people! As if that was not enough, they also have the terrible nuclear disaster on top of everything.

Kram

Carol said...

I have been watching 24 hour TV and have been reduced to tears many times. Watching the tsunami rolling over the towns and country side took my breath away and for the first two days I had the TV on night and day. The Japanese people are incredibly brave, as are the people in any disaster. I am always amazed at the resilience of the human race. Having watched the Chilean miners, the Haiti disaster, the Queensland floods, the Christchurch earthquake and now the Japanese disaster, I feel overloaded with sadness and terror but I can't ignore any of it because each one concerns people just like us. I am overawed by how courageous we are and by how expendable we are in the face of nature. And now I'm watching Libya... I'm coping, just. Please give Barker a big cuddle for me. xo

Eva said...

Cope... surpress or make something out of it. I will probably reinforce my activities againt nuke power stations -- we're abolishing them, hopefully. 80% of Germany's population are against them, and there was a majority against them already before the Japan desaster. Yet, out energy producing companies tell our government what to do!

Barbara said...

Judy, I have to say that Connie Rose's comment is just how I feel. I remember when 9/11 happened here at home and I was completely glued to every news channel all the time. The 9/11 was a different kind of devastation than what we are seeing in Japan. Watching and trying to process all that information impacted my day to day life for a very long time. Even after I tore myself away from the footage I couldn't get away from it in my head, if you know what I mean. For me I just can't go down that road with this disaster. I am not strong enough. I too send light and love to all the people in Japan and certainly would send cash if I could but I can't at this time. Perhaps others are feeling the same way. I'm not sure. I hate to think that apathy has to do with the lack of posting on the subject. What do you think?

Peace!

Vicki W said...

I don't talk about it on my blog because I decided at the beginning that I would not talk about news, politics or religion on my blog. I want it to be a haven away from the real world, for me and my readers. The situation in japan is overwhelming. All we can do is donate money and pray. I decided to turn off the news and work on some local charity projects instead.