I had a much different plan for this week's blog post and it will likely turn up at a later date. But given what happened in San Bruno, CA last evening, (about a 40 minute drive from where we live) I've been doing a lot of thinking and I decided to switch gears just a little bit.
For those of you who may not know what happened...last evening, somewhere around 6:00, a natural gas line exploded in a neighborhood in San Bruno. I imagined people were getting home from their jobs, kids were starting their homework and dinners were being prepared. One family was watching the Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints NFL game. The next thing they knew, they were, literally, running for their lives! That was the part that was really difficult for me to imagine.
I saw and heard interviews in which people were saying they didn't have time to do anything except to grab kids and pets and run. Some people were not even able to use their cars because the intense heat had caused their cars to burst into flame. One lady didn't even have shoes on her feet. In story after story and interview after interview, people were saying the same thing, which was some variation of "I grabbed my three kids and ran" or "I grabbed the dogs and my cat and ran" or "I ran out of my house, helped my neighbor get out of their house and we ran"!!
Not one time did I hear anyone say "I ran back in and grabbed my jewelry" or "I ran back in and grabbed some clothes" or, not even "I ran back in and grabbed a bunch of photos". In every case it was life...whether it was kids, other family members, neighbors or pets.
In the hours since this horrific incident, I have thought alot (again!) about "stuff" and what is enough. There are a lot of things that surly make our lives easier and more comfortable, but in the end, there is nothing...just nothing...that is worth more than life.
I found this prayer and really felt that it spoke to this incident in a beautiful and profound way.
"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgment and guarded in your speech. Be a lamp to those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility."
If you are able, please donate to the Red Cross. www.redcrossbayarea.org. They are providing emergency services for those impacted by this tragedy. And be generous to those you come into contact with in your own life...not just with things, but with your time, love and attention. THEY are the things that are truly important.
Peace out,
Lyn
Thank you Lyn for your post. I once lost everything to a fire, and truly do not remember what i lost (except my pet), but what the community reached out and gave me--support, clothes, a place to stay, and even $50 bucks from a stranger. The Red Cross was amazing, treating us with dignity after our fire.
ReplyDeleteHuman-kind-ness (ideally) is an everyday step, not just in crisis.
I'm sorry you lost your pet, Susi. I'd give you a hug, if I could.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're so right about human-kind-ness being an every day step. Thankfully, new days come around with amazing regularity, because we all fall short, at times. Second chances are beautiful things!
Peace,
Lyn