Hiroshima
The air hung thick as we walked along the canal. It's hard to imagine the buildings all around us being built only 50 years ago, so long ago, yet still so new. The city, understandably feels young. It’s sprawling Hiroshima castle and grounds are picturesque and it's even harder to imagine this ancient structure was actually rebuilt in 1958 as an exact replica of what once stood.
We all know the history of this town. The site of one of the most tragic events in recent history. The Atomic bomb that took hundreds of thousands of lives. We walked to the Peace Monument and Museum, and though I knew it would be sad, I had no idea the feelings that would overwhelm me as I walked through the exhibit. The audio guide is very informative and helpful, but at times unbearable in its gruesome detail. I had the luxury of turning it off and turning away from some of the more grotesque images and casualties of the destruction, but the facts could not be so easily dismissed.
What remains as I reflect upon this day is an aching sobriety.
This is what war looks like. This is what humans can do to each other.
It is unspeakable.
I am left with the deepest need for peace. To look at the children and families that are the result of these acts of aggression should not be something we take with us in the future. I pray that my children will never have to hear these stories of loss and destruction first hand as many of us whose grandparents and parents have lived through these wars.
The people of this city have a lesson to teach us.
First to forgive, Then to remember.
But lastly, that even in the darkest of times, life can still find a way to flourish. That above all hope is a human trait that even war can not tarnish.
