In the wake of Sandy the topic of how we deal with adversity has been very much on my mind. Watching from across the country many of us have kept up with our friends and family via Facebook-even in houses without power many people kept their cellphones charged and posted updates on Facebook.
I was both impressed and grateful to see people passing on information on school closings, status of electricity repair, and information on where you could find gas. What I saw was a generosity and resilience of spirit. I also saw a lot of gratitude. I observed people that had no power that were in homes without heat express gratitude that the power loss was the worst of their situation. And for every negative story shown on the news about fights at gas stations there were dozens of stories about people opening their homes so that people could charge their phones or wash their clothes.
I believe that most people are good people. I think we don’t always get to see that in action until there is a crisis when the news finally shows us acts of kindness rather than focusing on dissention and things that scare us.
As I write this the election is tomorrow and the nation has been polarized about it. I hope for all the bad that Sandy has wrought that it will also remind us that we are at our best when we help one another. We are at our best when we listen to one another. We are at our best when we have compassion for one another.
If you would like to help those who have suffered from Sandy here is the link to the Red Cross. Connect with me on Facebook
