Ten Years Ago Today

Ten years ago, one of the greatest natural disasters in recorded human history struck Southeast Asia - the earthquake and resulting catastrophic tsunami that claimed over 200,000 lives.  Memorials were held today in all the affected nations;  in Aceh province in Indonesia, the country hardest hit by the tsunami, the magnitude of the disaster resulted in something of an epiphany to local residents accustomed to years of political and religious strife:

Imam Asman Ismail said the tsunami had taught a "valuable lesson" to Aceh, which had been the scene of an armed conflict for nearly 30 years. 

"After the tsunami, no-one fights against each other; people live in harmony and peace till this day," he said.

We should all keep in mind how fragile life is and how quickly and arbitrarily it can be taken away. It shouldn't take a natural disaster like the 2004 tsunami to bring a larger perspective to our daily grievances, but maybe that's just the way we are as a species.

Just another way of saying, "Be good to each other."