Ordinary Gratitude

Haiti Children's Choir

You have to see this. What a beautiful group of children singing Neil Young's "When God Made Me." A tribute to the resilient spirit of a people who have witnessed so much tragedy.

Joy, Hope and Soul from Haiti

These people deserve to be seen and heard. Enjoy!

"Despite the difficulties of life in the aftershock of Haiti's 7.0 earthquake, joy, hope, and soul flow from Haiti like rivers of life cascading down a mountain stream." Fireside International

Give generously

Times of humanitarian disaster, such as the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, remind us of all that we have so much to be thankful for. Don't just say you're grateful, show your gratitude by contributing to the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti. Please, put your money where your mouth is and give generously.

Hope for Haiti Now

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

Yele Haiti

American Red Cross

Catholic Relief Services

UNICEF

CARE

Candles in my life

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” — Albert Schweitzer

I think back through my life and remember those who have loved, taught or inspired me. Eva, my ex-mother-in-law who taught me how to cook "regular food." Mark Thomas, my elementary school boyfriend who gave me my first kiss in 3rd grade. Mrs. McMillan for making me editor of the 8th grade newspaper. My husband, Greg, who encouraged me to start my first business and supports me in everything I do.

The list is long. Suffice it to say that there are plenty of folks out there who have had an impact in my life. Some may not know it, but I am grateful to each and every one of them, and to the Divine for bringing them into my life.

I pray that the people of Haiti will keep their own inner flames burning brightly. And I will remember them always for fueling the flame of gratitude within me.

"I have my children. They are alive. So I know that God loves me." - a Haitian woman interviewed on CNN after the earthquake.

Technology connects the world

Occasionally, I'm dramatically reminded of the true power of the Internet to bring people together, the reason why I've been involved in online communications for so long. In 2004 I wrote about the story of a father and son reunited after the tsunami when a relative spotted the child's photo posted on the Web by a Thai hospital. That event has stood as a glowing example of what useful information the Internet can provide.

When the devastating earthquake in Haiti knocked out major forms of communication, word got out via the Internet primarily through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Tweets and email messages from survivors, some simply saying "I'm ok," have been passed on to friends and relatives. Photos and videos of damage have been uploaded to sites like YouTube and various news outlets. Personal experiences by people on the ground were delivered via Skype and satellite phones. The American Red Cross has raised over $3 million using cell phone text messaging. (To donate $10 text "Haiti" to 90999.)

Now as we all grieve for the victims and families of this most recent disaster in Haiti, I find some comfort, however small, knowing that the Internet is helping to reunite loved ones, providing an outlet to express thoughts and feelings, soliciting donations to relief efforts, communicatiing stories of sorrow and heroism, and offering hope in the global recovery effort.

For news about Haiti & social media, view Mashable's coverage here: http://mashable.com/tag/haiti/.

CNN has developed a special area of their web site to help consolidate information about people in Haiti at http://www.cnn.com/haitimissing.

If you're interested in up-to-the-minute twitter reports from Haiti, follow Richard Morse, hotel manager at the Oloffson Hotel, or follow Haitian singer Wyclef Jean. 

You can survey the wreckage via satellite imagery using Google Earth. For details and instructions, visit Mashable's excellent post.

As most of us know, technology can be a blessing or a curse. Right now it is a blessing for which I am grateful.

Take what joy life offers

“The amount of damage that is done is absolutely catastrophic,” she said. “People are just sitting in parks. They’re scared to go home or their homes have been destroyed.”

And yet, Laurie Bickel [one of the administrators of God’s Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti] said, many people continue to attempt to take what joy life still offers them.

“You get to the playground areas and the kids are just playing. They’re enjoying today; they’re enjoying that moment, and that’s how the Haitian people are,” Bickel said. “In the face of all of this, they’ve been singing and just praising God that they survived, and they are here and they will get through this.”

(from MSNBC.com Today Show)

They Sang

"We have to be there for them in their hour of need." President Barack Obama

This is a very difficult post for me to write. My heart is breaking for the people in Haiti where a 7+ earthquake hit yesterday evening just before 5:00 local time. So much devastation. So much poverty. But I have to be honest: I am so grateful to be in Colorado right now and not living in Haiti.

I almost feel guilty sitting here at my computer in my home office. I have heat, electricity, toilets, telephones, and plenty of food and clean water. I have everything I need and much more. How can there be people with so little living so close to the richest country in the world? Are we so self-absorbed that we don't notice the suffering of others until disaster strikes?

Today I will take a nice hot shower knowing that in Haiti there is no running water, hot or otherwise. I will go to my freezer to peruse my choices as I decide what to fix my family for dinner, never doubting that when I flip the switch the lights will come on and my electric stove will heat up. Or maybe I'll order a pizza to be delivered to my door by some young driver who has likely filled his tank with gas from the station down the street. I'll talk to my husband by cell phone, send a text message to my son working in New York, and email friends and associates all from the comfort and safety of my home. For all these things I am truly grateful.

Tragic reports and photos have been displayed on the TV news channels for over 24 hours now. I've been glued to CNN and MSNBC watching the horror and devastation in grim detail on my high-def television, unable to look away. I've tried to imagine walking out my front door and seeing my neighbors' houses flattened, driving down the street and seeing stores and schools turned to rubble, unable to contact my loved ones, not knowing if they are dead or alive. The idea is so foreign to me that it is almost incomprehensible. What would I do? Where would I go? Who would I turn to?

Last night as I watched the tragedy unfold I was struck by reports of survivors singing and praying in the streets after the earthquake hit. They sang songs of praise and gratitude as they cleared rubble from the streets, searched through buildings turned to flattened concrete, pulled bodies from the wreckage, and tended to the injured and dying. We are all blessed by this testament to the strength and resiliency of the people living in one of the poorest countries in the world. For that I am also grateful.

Disasters like this earthquake in Haiti, the tsunami in Sumatra, or Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, remind us of all that we have to be grateful for, but for most of us the effect is temporary. Eventually we go back to our comfort zone and forget how fortunate we are. We complain about our perceived lack and wish for all the stuff our neighbors have until another disaster comes along to remind us of the beauty in our lives every day.

How will you hold onto that recognition of gratitude long after the disaster is no longer in the news? How will you acknowledge how rich your life is?

Everyday I will join the Haitians in songs of gratitude and parise. Everyday I will offer prayers for those who are suffering. Everyday I will remember to say "thank you" for my life.

So what do we do now? Visit Guidestar.org for a list of reputable charitable organizations working in Haiti. Please give what you can, as much as you can.

[photo from nola.com)

"Can hear people gathered in the distance singing prayers," wrote Richard Morse, hotel manager at the Oloffson Hotel, on Twitter. (CNN.com)

"Church groups are singing throughout the city all through the night in prayer. It is a beautiful sound in the middle of a horrible tragedy." -- From Twitter user troylivesay in Port-au-Prince at 03:09 a.m. Wednesday (posted at CNN.com)

"I'm hearing singing and praying from from the carrefour feuilles area.. My prayers go out to the folks there"-- From Twitter user RAMhaiti in Haiti at 9:26 p.m. ET Tuesday (posted at CNN.com)

The faithful prayed -- for relief, for mercy, for safety -- as aftershocks rumbled across Haiti on Tuesday evening. (CNN.com)