Why is there so much pain in this world?

I just learn about how children are being enslaved off the Ivory Coast to harvest chocolate and then I hear about an earthquake hitting Haiti. It is all so upsetting. Why is there so much pain in this world?

I sit and watched all the tweets on twitter about the earthquake and most are saying that they are glad it wasn't them. Some are praying and others are donating.

Sometimes it seems like bad things happen so others will care.

Of course a Tsunami will occur after the earthquake. More tragedies.

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if nothing bad ever happened to you? When a tragedy happens and its all over the news you wouldn't care. You wouldn't be able to relate. Pain keeps us human.

Buildings can be rebuilt. Crops can be replanted. Fires can be extinguished. Even livestock rebred. But the main impact of this earthquake is lost loved ones. Bones can mend and wounds can heal. But families are torn apart.

Its strange how some tragedies make the news and gain the sympathy of the world and others go unnoticed and remain a secret for the most part. I was living without electricity when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I'm not upset. I managed. They needed the help more than me.

Now with new technology we can help people even faster and news can spread even faster. Thousands and thousands of people on twitter.com were tweeting about the quake. I remember on the morning of the 7th year anniversary of 9/11 hundreds of people were tweeting tributes to the victims and survivors of 9/11.

I still don't quite understand. If everyone cared then all tragedies wouldn't be so harsh. But still why must it happen. If nothing bad ever happened then we all really wouldn't care about each other.

And is death really that bad? Yes, we can't see or communicate with our loved ones for the rest of our lives. But what about when we die also? Will we both be together again? Is there just a wall between the world of the living and the world of the dead?

Is the whole point of human existence to teach us how to love and to care by experiencing and witnessing tragedies?

Its all so complicated. I don't understand. Why is it that when the Earth grows and expands it shakes and causes life forms on the surface to be injured and die? I hope one day we will all understand.

The more you know. the less you understand. - Tao Te Ching