Quake, shake, heartache...

An earthquake in the Pacific moved Japan's coastline by 8 feet and changed the earth's axis. The force of nature terrorized the people of Japan and shook their deep-rooted belief that they were well prepared for such disasters. The rubble is still clearing and if that's not enough, nuclear plants are now threatening to cause irreparable damage to the environment.

While the Pacific is boiling, the Atlantic is no cooler. Heartaches persist. Relentless toil amounts to nothing, leaving at the end of the day, only the feeling that something is still missing. Nothing really suggests that life is falling apart but surely life is not whole. It's like I have everything and I have nothing. I like the silence. At least, it says something.

Technology helps. Chat and email have helped people stay connected to their friends and family in the far east to ensure their well-being. But look at the irony. Youtube and Facebook enjoyed record viewership, participation and perhaps advertising revenue as people the world exchanged pictures and videos of the misery. Don't forget the smartphones, ipads and other mobile devices!

And yet, nothing helps. Sleep only delays the inevitable. It only hastens the deadlines on the multi-various project plans I have to coordinate in India time, deliver on UK time and follow up on US Eastern Standard time. The fun is fun while it lasts but the magic wears out faster than I know it. Then what? The mind soon follows the laws of physics and gravitates to what's missing.

Even as Japan is struggling to restore, afteshocks have appeared. Though not enough to disrupt the recovery activities or damage life further, they have been enough to provide hungry news channels with more reels of footage and attention. The Nikkei plummeted even as the Richter hit the high. Business and life have come to a stall, not much is really moving in the world's most industrious nation.

Everyday I think I have accomplished something, I only receive some feedback that suggests I need to do more. I wind up at 10 PM thinking I have addressed everything I need to for the day only to have a rude awakening at 5 AM about something that is due at 8. I'm spinning the wheels at a frenetic pace but not moving forward. The impasse is only good. It makes life seem so certain.

Don't stop watching the news yet. Japan will come back, soon and strong. Do Hiroshima and Nagasaki ring a bell? And they won't even need help from the immensely larger or notionally more powerful nations of the world. They will recover through sheer diligence and ingenuity. Fear will be replaced by faith, horror by hope and human loss by the indomitable human spirit.

It's just a matter of time for me too. When time tests me, I choose to Endure. Ask me why Ernest Shackleton is My Hero! I know I have to go through it because I'm not asking for anything lesser than the MOON. And I'm working hard enough to give myself a reasonable shot at getting it. But most important of all, deep down in my gut I BELIEVE that's the only way it will be. I WILL BE BACK...