#prayforjapan

I would like to dedicate my 72nd blog post to the entire country of Japan and the surrounding areas. To those who have lost their lives already. To those who are saved but have lost everything. To those who live in the agonizing thoughts of not knowing where family members are. To those who are watching their home fall apart in less than a day.
CNN says that this earthquake was an 8.9. In 1960 there was an earthquake in Chile ranking 9.5 on the Richter scale. That was the only earthquake larger than this one in recorded history. Because the quake was so close to the surface - 24.5 km below the earth's crust - it created unfathomable seismic waves that would inevitably destroy anything in its path. And since the earthquake altered the ocean floor, a tsunami was created as gravity tried to level out the current.
And now, as the country tries to rescue the hapless victims, we all sit and wait. We are waiting for more news. Because something about humanity is that we will all band together when the times are tough.
When I got home from school today, I went on my iPad to check my email and my Tweets. When I went on Twitter, it exploded with tweets and retweets about condolences to Japan and prayers sent to the people of Japan. And in the Trending Topics section, instead of something about a Britney Spears single or a Lady Gaga fashion ensemble, I saw a hashtag. It said: #prayforjapan.
And, in case you don't tweet or "do Twitter", here is my crash course on Twitter: retweeting is when you quote something that someone said by just pressing the retweet button. A hashtag is something people put in front of TTs, which are trending topics, or things that people are generally tweeting about. Like during the Oscars, it said #oscars. Get it?
There were more, too, like "Text REDCROSS" and "#tsunami". Even "Hurricane Katrina" was trending.
I saw all the tweets for #prayforjapan, and every second hundreds more were being added. And this is where I got the number to text the Red Cross (text REDCROSS to 90999 and immediately donate $10 to the Red Cross to help Japan). On the CNN app, comments on the articles in Breaking News said, "we pray for you" and "we stand with you" and "you're not alone. May God bless and protect you." On my BrainPop app, with educational videos, they did one on the dangers of tsunamis.
We don't know them. Many of us have never been to Japan. Yet we extend our hands to them and offer our love. And I love that amidst the horrible things we have done and are doing, we stop in a time of complete and utter calamity and pray for our brothers and sisters around the globe.
It's not happy that this happened. What's happy is that so many of us are so compassionate and caring. There's a song called "Where is the Love" by the Black Eyed Peas. And the answer is, right here. Here is the love.
Humanity. Pass it on.