Recently, both Japan and Ecuador have suffered from earthquakes of heightened magnitude and intensity, and I reflected on what was happening in my world while disaster struck theirs. When the first of two earthquakes struck Japan, I was simply going about my regular day without a care in the world. When Ecuador was struck by a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake, I was decompressing from what I felt was a long and draining week.

When Japan was unfortunately struck again, I was reconnecting with an old friend. This friend confided in me that the past few years in which we had grown apart were filled with struggles for her, and her world was, to say, shaken. Where was I when disaster struck? I was nowhere to be found, caught up in my own world. I have now come to accept that just like with the situation in both Ecuador and Japan, I can’t fix what has happened, but I can do my part to help pick up the pieces.

Earthquakes happen every day, both physically and emotionally. They are all around us. We all face them. At first, everything may seem a little shaky, but we are still on our feet: the foreshock. Tension builds, and suddenly we are knocked face first onto the crumbling ground that we worked so hard to keep together. For a while, we are lost. We look at the world around us and it doesn’t feel like ours anymore. We stare in shock, contemplating where the restoration begins. Unfortunately, sometimes we even have to cut our losses and realize that things are different and no amount of repair will ever make us whole again.

At the end of the day we need to be aware of the world falling apart around us, even if it isn’t our own. No one should ever have to pick up the pieces on their own. So send thoughts, prayers, good vibes, luck charms, what have you. Reach out. Don’t let the ground completely falter under their feet, or if it already has, don’t make them get up alone. Sometimes we just need someone to help us pick up the pieces, find what we have lost, and build us up while we are building our world back up.

Disaster happens. It is completely out of our control, but how we respond to it and the strength we have to be resilient to it are the things that we can control. Do not be afraid to build a relief group, ask for help, and give it. We can face the earthquakes together. It’s time to open our eyes and our hearts to the world around us because no matter what the magnitude, our struggles matter, and we shouldn’t have to fight the earthquake or its aftermath on our own.