The night of rain and stars.

The night of rain and stars.

I’d randomly surfed websites and watched news flashes the past few days, but just an hour ago,
I finally sat down with the newspapers for uninterrupted reading.

Besides the breaking news on the front page, human-interest stories and survivor tales made up a significant portion of the day’s news coverage. What stood out most to me was a story of a maintenance staff at the Taj Hotel who shielded a family he was trying to evacuate when they came face to face with a gunman.

I sobbed a little as I contemplated what I’d read. It’s almost unimaginable. The city I had only recently lamented to be too humid and chaotic to be comfortable, now in utter devastation.

There were several other snippets of people who helped usher survivors to safety, of people who put the lives of others above their own. I’ve been too jaded by youngsters who pretend to sleep on trains to avoid giving up their seats, and this was a reminder that humans are not necessarily all bad.

As ungracious and intolerable we can be, the stories have shown me just how unselfish and chivalrous the human race is. In the face of such adversity, it is humanity that truly shines.

I’m not sure how I would react if I ever faced such a situation though. In all honesty, my first priority would probably be to gather my traveling partner(s) to safety. I really don’t know if I have it in me to ever be one of these heroes who rush into burning buildings or plunge back into tsunamis.

It makes me feel incredibly small, and how I’ve been spending my time incredibly frivolous.