What Can You Do?
Looking at photos and video clips of the devastating impact of Cyclone Gabrielle (and further afield of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria) it is easy to be overwhelmed. It is absolutely mind-boggling how much there is to do to bring some sense of normality to lives that have been completely upturned in a matter of minutes. Listening to people's stories is heartbreaking. I have found myself wondering what we could do.
If you look at the big picture it can be easy to paralyzed with a sense of helplessness wondering what difference we can make. The reality is that we can all do something. The question is not “Can I do anything to help” but rather, “What can I do?”
This weekend we got to help clean up at a small holding. It is amazing how much damage water and mud can do. There were about 8 or so people throughout the day and we managed to ‘sort’ a fence line and clean a farm shed. Other houses in the road had been harder hit and there were volunteers helping in all parts of the property. It was a shed and some fences. It can make you wonder if the help made any difference at all. To that family it did. The other volunteers made a difference where they were. In the big picture it is almost insignificant, but as people continue with one act of kindness followed by another, it will make a difference.
Some people will be in affected areas and be able to give mental, emotional and physical help and support, some will be able to send financial support, others will bring products, others will be able to reach out with compassion and encouragement. All of us can be kinder and more considerate. None of us know what battles and impact people have had from this devastation, or the ripple effects of it. I was particularly disturbed to read a request from the New Zealand transport authority asking people to be kinder and more considerate to their workers who are doing the very best to try and repair the roads.
For the most part a crisis brings out the best in humanity. People are confronted with stark reminders of how precious life is and how fleeting our ‘worldly goods’ are. People band together and do what they can, helping each other. A crisis also creates trauma and people manage this in so many different ways. In the coming weeks look for what you can do. It might be a helping hand, it might be a smile or letting someone go in front of you. Who knows, it could even be ‘turning the other cheek’ if you happen to cross paths with someone who has no emotional reserves left.
Be kind. Stay safe. Do what you can.
