I’m interrupting my regularly scheduled vacation programming with a thought spurred by the earthquake in Russia. As I write, it’s being measured as 8.8 on the Richter scale, but from what I’ve read it could be upgraded in the days to come.

The tsunami it triggered sent 10-foot waves rolling across the Pacific, and warnings for as far away as California.

No need to comment on nature’s magnitude; it’s apparent. But what the earthquake and tsunami make me think about is how connected we are — whether we want to be or not.

We’re connected by our shores and coastlines, our storms and heat waves. When volcanoes erupt, the ash clouds they spew scuttle across the skies, heeding no boundaries.

It’s so easy to forget that we’re all in this together … but we are.