A man's tear is worth a thousand gold

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“For the damage to his community,I asked(a local search and rescue director), how many have died? He breaks down in tears. Up to 500 have been killed, he said, including his parents, wife and children. In the midst of his anguish, there is a call over his radio, he’s needed again, and goes back to work.” –John Vause, CNN. http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=2485069

Being able to understand Chinese, I caught one sentence that the interpreter missed:

But I absolutely cannot go back home, the people here are my responsibility now.

There is an ancient Chinese saying: a man’s tear is worth a thousand gold. Watching him running back into the rubbles, after reading news for so many days, the dam within me finally cracked. My brain is totally not capable of imagining pain greater than losing one’s parents, wife and children on the same day, even one would be devastating enough to bring a person down to his knees. I can’t help but asking myself: would I be strong enough, in the darkest moment of life, put the responsibility of rescuing others before mourning the loss of my own? In the spirit of being honest, I don’t know.

I want to believe that no one could possibly be prepared for something like this, our mortal shells are simply not designed to take a physical and emotional beating of this magnitude, let alone both at the same time. I also want to believe that at moments like these, when put to the challenge, we will step up to be the better selves that we always wished to be. After all, belief and hope is what keeps our world going.

I am sad, but hopeful, because I believe that there are thousands just like him. Hang in there, brother, help is on the way.

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Renjie Wang www.redroom.com