Japan from Culebra

I always find the same feeling of being humbled, in the face of such a natural disaster as the earthquake and following tsunami in Japan, how trivial most of my troubles are. And yet, the stubbed toe or the stubbed heart still hurts, doesn't it?

(Newser) – Some numbers related to the Japan earthquake, from CNN and ABC:
8: Number of feet the coast of Japan moved eastward.
4: Number of inches the Earth's axis shifted.
160: Number of aftershocks in the first 24 hours, most of them with a magnitude of at least 5.0.
59 feet: How much tectonic plates slipped.
6 miles: How far inland some of the tsunami waves reached.

"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey tells CNN.

That is what numbers say. And no doubt, numbers will play a part of this for a long time. I've heard a lot of talk about the economy, how ultimately, this might be what brings Japan out of its recession, how the stock market will be affected, all reports I find a bit obscene. But that is the reality of the world we live in. Red Cross and red ink.

The human cost? Unimaginable. Again.

Well, that was a cheery little post, wasn't it? I know Culebra is often the antidote we take for living in the world that brings us so much that really is almost unbearable. And it truly is. As the years go by, living here is something I become more and more grateful for. But sometimes, reality impinges strongly. A good walkabout usually helps. It must be time to do that! 

Have a simple Sunday. Do something sweet. Yes. Sweet.