It may be that our brains have a safety value which only allows us to handle grief, outrage or the ability to keep frightening or horrific scenes and events in the forefront of our minds. It may be that this "safety valve" is what enables us to go on with the responsibilities of everyday life rather than be consumed with emotions and feelings of helplessness.

In the meantime, the people immersed in the disaster can't escape. Today as I listened to the daily news, I found myself thinking of past news stories and wondered what is happening to make things better in those situations:  What is the status in New Orleans still recovering from Katrina so many years later? Towns demolished by tornadoes, are they being rebuilt? Where did the people who lost their homes to tornadoes, flood and fire go? What is happening in Japan since the tsunami? What is the status of those nuclear reactors and the brave people who were working at the risk of their own lives to prevent an even worse disaster?What is happening in Haiti, have the people gotten places to live beyond homemade tents? 

Beyond the global and national disasters there are times of personal crisis.  The person who has lost a loved one gets loving support initially but then people get on with their own lives, unfortunately that may be when then grief has actually set in.  Family and friends rally round when someone is ill or has an accident or surgery however afterwards everyone goes on with their own struggles, sometimes leaving the patient alone to rehab and for emotional mending. This isn't because people are bad or uncaring, just the opposite, I think it is because empathy can be overwhelming. If we live dwelling on the unfortunate things that make up the news and our life adventures, then the everyday individual responsibilities everyone has might go undone.

It is just important that every once in a while we stop and when we are counting our blessings take a moment and remember the news of yesterday and see if there is some way we can reach out to help.

If we know someone lost a loved one recently maybe it would be nice to reach out and check on how they are doing. Maybe we can take a moment to check-in with someone who has overcome obstacles or is in rehab or recovering from surgery. 

Maybe in our busy worlds, we should take a moment and reach out to people in a personal way. Our brains may have a safety valve that prevents overload and that is good and necessary, however we also have hearts and once in a while we need to let them remind us to pause and show we care.  

That is what I am going to do today. May I start by saying to my readers, thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit my blog. You make me smile. I appreciate you.