Dec. 26, 2004: Indian Ocean Tsunami

The tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004 separated thousands of people from one another forever, but at the same time connected many more around the world. An incredible 230,000 lives were taken, causing untold suffering and hopelessness. Remarkably, on the same day, people were ready to sacrifice their own lives to save complete strangers. The tsunami brought individuals, communities, and whole countries together, all asking, “How can we help?” It is one of the few events in history that truly brought the world together. As a result of my experiences during the tsunami, I, along with the generous help of others, established the Happy Hearts Fund, which helped in the tsunami-affected countries and later in other countries affected by natural disasters. As a result of this initiative, so far, more than 23,000 children and 119,000 community members yearly are being given opportunities to change their future. The tsunami was a reminder that anything can happen at any time to anyone, but also that we are all capable of immense compassion for one another. Unfortunately, this compassion is often short-lived. Yes, we live in a world of dualities, but do we really need to experience or see human suffering to demonstrate our compassion? If we are truly creators of our own reality, why can we not create our reality based on compassion for each other?