This Little Light of Mine...

It wouldn't be right to blog about all that is good in Bermuda today while the news reports are pouring in about the devastation in the Philippines and Vietnam is bracing to face this same terrifying power beyond our control.  It seems that there is always a lot to say, and today the most important thing to think about is the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (or Yolanda).

There are estimates ranging between 1,200 and greater than 10,000 lives lost.  Knowing how devastating the loss of a single life can be to a family or community, I cannot fathom the magnitude of grief that exists when thousands are lost.  And for those who survive to grieve, many are left without the comforts of home, power, and possibly have lost many who would normally offer support.  The needs of shelter, clean water, food, and medical services are not readily available to hundreds of thousands of people.  Hundreds of thousands of people.

I have never been to the Philippines, but everyone I know who has visited says that it is very beautiful and welcoming.  I have made several friends in Bermuda from the Philippines, and some in Canada as well -- each of them are conscientious and dedicated professionals, as well as being friendly, sweet, kind, and generous.  Many could do nothing but wait for what must have been an agonizing period of time to get word from their family and friends.  While most of my friend's families are safe as far as I know, I know that the ripples of loss and griefs will be making their way around the world today, and to Bermuda too.

I think we all sometimes feel overwhelmed.  With whatever is left in our paycheques for charity, we look at our home cities and see that there is a need for donations for people in our neighbourhoods -- homeless shelters, women's shelters, animal shelters, mental illness, cancer research, food programs, environmental preservation....there are more good causes on my doorstep than there is money in my pocket.  And then there are long standing global issues -- poverty, hunger, health care, oppression, climate change, habitat loss, and more.

There are some statistics that make it pretty amazing that any of us are in the position to give as opposed to be looking for that aid...even in North America.  To paraphrase Forbes Magazine in 2012, 0.1% (yes, ZERO-POINT-ONE) percent of America has 43% of all of the wealth in America.  America has about 25% of all of the wealth in the world.  The way my brain works, I need some math to put this in perspective for me today.  In 2012 when the article was written, America had a population of 313 million.  The global population exceeded 7 billion people in March 2012.  Therefore, 113,000 people, all of them American, possess almost 11% of all the money and assets in the world.  The percentage of people who own that 11% are 0.00000016% of the world's population.  So I guess we are just lucky to be living in the bottom half of the top.  I hesitate to say that the luxury is bestowed upon us by birth right, but if you look at the map below, it is undeniable that despite your own unique and valuable gifts as a human being, what you have has a lot to do with where you are born.  We all kinda know this, but to see  it graphically hits home more for me.

Basically if you live in the red zones, you are much wealtier than most everyone else

So here I am, born in Canada, living in Bermuda.  I am employed, with a roof over my head, shoes on my dry feet, and although I have worked very hard for a very long time, I know I also started out as one of the comparatively few lucky in this big world.  I have regular donations to charities I believe in, but until today the Red Cross has not been one of them.  The tragedy unfolding half a world away calls to me, and they are the organization that one knows will be there.  The damage has been sudden and severe, and if I can help donate a little for a few basic necessities, then I will.  When we wonder how much good we can do as one person against something so big, we just have to remember that numbers matter in this situation too.  For one thing  every unit of money is not the same.  A Peso in the Philippines is equivalent to 0.023 USD...a couple of pennies.  I wondered what $5 would buy in the Philippines, so I googled food prices there.  A loaf of bread is $1.15.  A latte for me versus 3 of 4 loafs of bread.  Now granted the infrastructure has collapsed to it's going to cost more than usual.  I am also aware that aid organizations use a portion of donations to administration, as one must, but those figures should not deter people from donating.  I am not so concerned with what the organization pays their staff, but how much money goes to actual aid.  The American Red cross gets 91% of your donation to aid.  I won't argue whether that's good enough, too much, too little...I'm willing to "bet my latte" and put my faith in the system and hope my donation to the Philippines branch of the Red Cross does some good.  It's the least I can do.

The only other thing I can think of is this.  Over the years I have adopted a personal habit.  I light a candle while I "reflect" or think it all through.  My candle today is white, a gift from Barbara when she visited.  A white candle is said to symbolize peace, spiritual strength, healing, protection, and unity.  It may not make a physical difference, but in the quiet of my own home I offer it as a sign of respect for what has been lost and hope as many begin to pick up the pieces.

Today, this little light of mine is for the Philippines.

It will be in need tomorrow as well.