I have started, and then not finished, this post a hundred times over the past week.

And here I am, starting from scratch – again.

Truthfully, it’s something I’m having difficulty coming to terms with myself. You’ve all heard about it – it’s been all over the news – we’ve all seen the painfully heartbreaking images of small children and their lifeless bodies washed ashore.

The thing is – the Syrian civil war isn’t “news” to me by any means. I wish that I could say that all this time I’ve been actively involved in trying to find practical ways of helping and being of service from a distance; that the tragedies we now regularly see unfolding in Syria, and in several other countries where innocent lives are ruthlessly and abruptly destroyed or ended, impelled me to urgent action a while back; that I find it difficult to sleep at night when I think about the sometimes terrifying world in which I am trying to raise my child.

But somehow, it is easier to do – nothing. To try to think – nothing. To feel – nothing. Continue reading →