Time for Contemplation

Tail Winds

“Forget about enlightenment.

Sit down wherever you are.

And listen to the wind singing in your veins.”

John Welwood

Windy, cool and wet in Birmingham this morning as the tail-winds of Hurricane Harvey pass through. There were super cell storms and a couple of tornadoes in “the alley” last night, and storm warning horns blasted here. Liza exercised her vocal cords quite a lot. This week has been unusually traumatic for this country—with a large chunk of it underwater, and another one burning down, we've had an excruciatingly painful seven days. I feel for all the people in the wake of such loss. And, there are others across the world who are experiencing these same difficult realities—more than a thousand people dead in South Asia from flooding. In India, a building collapsed from the weight of the wet, crushing unsuspecting people. It's been a “terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad” (Judith Viorst) week for humankind.

In our desire to help, we sometimes create more problems. I heard numerous people from the shelters and the Red Cross in Texas asking folks to hold off on sending truck-loads of clothing and supplies until they can assess the need. The deep desire for the unaffected to reach out is genuine, but tons of “stuff” has to be housed, sorted and distributed and that takes space and manpower. Let's take a breath. The needs are not going away. Right now is not the time to act impulsively from our own desire to somehow ameliorate the damage.

Hopefully, this week's devastation will be a wake-up call to all of us. Let cooler heads prevail and plan. The handling of Harvey was leagues better than the handling of Katrina or even Sandy. We learn something from each one. Unrestrained building is not only detrimental to our land, but to the health and well-being of our people. The more we destroy our wet lands, our fields, and green spaces, the more likely we are to see devastating floods. We must curtail our desire to make money at all costs, and instead, have smart policies for building in flood prone areas.

It seems to me to be a time for deciding—time to sit and watch the wind blow, and contemplate what is right. Where are we going as a country? What is the best way to change conditions we know need to be changed? How can we be of service? How can each one of us be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem? Ask for Spirit's help in deciding—there is no better guide.

                                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                                     Jane