tears are not enough

What can I say that hasn't already been said or read about the Tsunami tragedy?

I have no personal poignant story to narrate. All my relatives in Chennai and Kerala are shaken but fine.
I did party on New Year's Eve. I spent more than I should on my New Year clothes, shoes and jewellery. On January 1st, I woke up to more images of the tsunami-striken areas. I switched off the television and went down to the hotel's restaurant for my breakfast.
And my life goes on.

I have done my bit. I contributed money online this morning. That was more a justification to myself than to you. It's just not enough. There is a cloud of grief everywhere and I have my own selfish issues as usual. I dont know what I should do to make my world happier. All these people who are homeless, with their tremendous will to survive, are such an inspiration really. There are stories everywhere. The one about the family who tied themselves up to a tree to be able to fight the raging waters, another about the people in the coastal areas rebuilding their lives from scratch, children, teenagers, everyone is doing everything they can. All I do each day is go through my mechanical life with my usual emotional insecurities.

I was supposed to go to the Andamans on the 25th. The plan was to fly to Chennai and then, from there, to Port Blair. I am happy we postponed it to Monday(27th). Our tickets to Port Blair for the 25th weren't confirmed and we didn't want to take the risk. I was the only one who was against the idea but now I'm glad all my cousins didn't really listen.
That was the 4th trip in 2004 that got cancelled and the 2nd time I thought God had given me another chance at life. Now, what did I do to deserve that?

For the world, in general, 2004 wasn't a very good year. Okay, now that's an understatement. There have been numerous top ten stories in all the news channels and newspapers so I'm not going to go into what went wrong. Obviously you know what the world's been through in the last 12 months. India, in particular, had her own share of tragedies, calamities and strife.
Personally, 2004 was wonderful. Academically, Physically, Romantically etc.

I have reason to celebrate and according to me, the world does too. 2005 can be a new beginning. I'm not saying we should forget the staggering number of people who died. I believe that we need to fight this growing sadness and be proactive. A new year puts everything in perspective. Is this too practical and heartless?
All those advertisements on television with the names and phone numbers of the people who are missing, all the images we see in the news of people trying to rebuild their lives are there to remind us that beyond everything, there is hope.
I want to hold on to the hope that the future is bright for our world, our country and for every person who has the will and the gumption to fight against all odds and for every person who has that primal need to survive with blind faith.