japan earthquake, tsunami -- a reminder

it is so hard to write this as i view the pictures of the aftermath of just this recent event in that beautiful country of japan. an 8.9 earthquake, and then that thunderous surging of a great wall of water, tsunami. they say it was about 10  meters high. so horrible indeed. before, we only manage to see this in movies. yet, it is happening now.

it is a reminder, albeit, a grim one, how we should really value this given life. it is again the Infinite speaking and we must listen and listen well. that at any moment, even when we least expect it, an end of this life will come. if not a physical end, an end to a comfortable life.

we must not spend all of our time towards pursuing the "glamour of the outer life, the life of the senses". we must devote a portion of our time on this planet towards connecting with our inner life, our purposeful life, our life Divine.

that japan earthquake and tsunami had clearly shown it. it only takes minutes for the glamour of the outer life to be erased.  looking at the images, every thing, every product of the material life, lies there, in rubble, in ruins. outer riches amassed over time, levelled to the ground.
 
old Sages and Masters remind us -- seek for inner riches, wealth that will never be corrupted nor destroyed. wealth that can be carried over life after life after life.  devote time, precious time, to seek this inner treasures.

let us endeavor to remember. and remember well.

give thanks for this that you received
the chance to better appreciate the days
that pass by in your life
the hours spent with friends 
in merriment and frolic.
give thanks that you have less to think about
unlike those whose hearts were set
to linger long in pains and uncertainties
for whom even a smile is a painful act.
pray then, pray hard, this would not change,
or, if so, that it would be for good,
and then, silently offer a smile
for those who could not so afford
remembering them, never forgetting,
even in hours of merriment and frolic...