We are not just us but we all together

I have read stories of hoarding gasoline, rice and foodstuff, seeing photographs of empty shelves at the stores in Japan.  While I do understand this, I do not want to accept that this is the only reality.  I believe that while the heart is essentially selfish, there is the opportunity for it to put down its own tendencies and to rise above itself.  And I don't mean donating a few bucks to some charity and considering it a done deal.

A personal case in point.  My partner's parents, based in Sendai (the epicenter of the earthquake and mass devastation), were thankfully spared from the destruction.  True that half of Grandfather's house had collapsed (the older part of the building), but everyone was safe.  I doubt that anyone could ask for anything more.  Anyway, seeing all the trouble around, they did not sequester themselves but actually went out into the community (they belonging to a sort of social / community group) and gathered what they could to help people who needed it.  They contributed a commercial sized bag of rice (we are talking about the 50 pound variety here), and they did not keep one grain of it for themselves.  Others were able to contribute what they had in terms of food and et cetera.

Something to keep in mind in this land of plenty, this land of waste.