I wanted to write about yoga, I wanted to write about love and life.

It’s all off the table. I’m now incessantly switching between international news channels.

The oppressive feeling in my chest is growing.

298 dead because somebody thought it necessary to shoot a plane down. Some say they meant to get Putin’s plane. Others say that they were aiming at a military transport. Either way, it’s collateral damage of another useless war.

There are no words to describe the sadness of the situation, so I won’t even try. I have this tightness in my throat that I can’t seem to swallow away.

173 of my fellow countrymen are confirmed dead and the Dutch toll may rise.

So far, it seems I don’t know any of the victims but I know people who know people who were on the plane. So many of the victims being Dutch makes it all seem worse to me.

It seems irrational. 298 dead is 298 dead. It’s no more tragic whether they are Chinese, Dutch, Russian, Australian or Egyptian.

But somehow, in my little personal world of emotions, it is.

So today I’ll pray. Perhaps not so much for the dead, as for them, I can only hope that it was quick and painless.

But I’ll pray for the people left behind and for the people that have to deal with the consequences of this tragedy. I’ll pray for the people that are responsible for this disaster and for the people that are planning similar acts. I’ll pray for tears, millions of tears around the world to wash away the pain and to drown the sorrow we feel every time there is another injustice taking place somewhere. I’ll pray for us to never forget and finally learn from our mistakes.

#GazaUnderAttack #FreeAJstaff #SouthSudan #Syria

I don’t pray to any god, I never do, I never could. I pray to humanity. We are the only ones responsible for the pain we inflict upon each other and we are the only ones who can help ourselves.

As the universal sound Om resonates in my chest, attempting to relieve me of the tension in my breath, I hear echoes in my head. Amen, amin, shalom, shanti… and the following resonates in my soul:

“Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu”

In the end, I guess I did write about yoga, about love, about life…

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Editor: Travis May

Photo: @BBCBreaking on Twitter