Miscommunication

Okay, it wouldn't be right to not mention all of what has been happening in West Virginia with the Sago Mine. Now, the main focus of the story now appears to be the fact that the families were told their loved ones were alive when they were not. Whatever the reasons behind this (and apparently mine CEO Hatfield is blaming it on the church clergy and the radio), it is a sad, sad event. However, we can learn a lesson from this. The lesson is simple: don't say/announce anything unless you are sure of what you're saying. Otherwise, it's just gossip. We all do this. We say things that we don't know to be the truth, either because we got the information from someone else (who usually hears it from someone else who heard it from...) or because we really don't care to take the time to find out the truth. My New Year's resolution was to take chances by doing things I normally wouldn't do, but I'm going to add to this. I'm going to do my best to not say things to people unless I know it to be true. This kind of ties in with telling people how they feel. Someone says, "Oh, I'm suicidal" and a person responds, "No, you're not" is an example. Or people just assuming what others are thinking. I'm also going to do my best to not do this either. Anyway, I think this whole Sago situation was a shame and it can be put in line with the 9/11 events, the "War on Terrorism," and Hurricane Katrina. All of these became even more tragic than necessary due to (here comes that dreaded word) miscommunication. In all of the chaos of this, though, it seems many are forgetting that there was a miracle: a man made it out. My heart goes out to the families and the community.

Then you have Israeli Prime Minister Sharon fighting for his life in a hospital right now. All in all, the year has started out with a lot of sorrow. And as a friend pointed out to me, it does make you look at your own life and realize it isn't that bad.

And so it goes...