Okay, I can’t keep blogging without putting this out there. It’s kind of hard to continue writing papers, talking to friends, going out to eat lunch when I know, a single ocean away, people are suffering in Japan, a nuclear reactor stands exposed, and the entire globe seethes with unrest. The UN Security Council just passed a resolution on Libya. The US House cut federal funding to NPR, and dance jobs will probably be next to go. It’s hard to justify my continued interest in the local weather, in Emily Dickinson and Shakespeare, in dressing in matching clothes.

But what can we do? We send aid and prayers to those in need and examine the dark spots within our own lives. We try to live as well as possible, as lightly as possible on this earth, with as much compassion for our fellows as possible, with as much joy and appreciation for our own experiences. Otherwise, what is the point of all this malarky?

This life is a balance between joy and despair. We must feel the pain of our fellows in places like Japan. It is right to participate in their despair over this horrible, horrible tragedy. It is right to be anxious about the impending danger at Fukushima Daiichi (though read both views). It is right to be anxious about civil wars and the economy. At the same time, we cannot abandon our own personal timelines, our personal and local concerns. This is what I have decided.