The New York Disaster-A Reminder to Live Fully Right Now

These past two weeks have been quite an upheaval here in New York due to some powerful forces of nature. It was as though we were all inside a giant snow globe, shaken up, and in some way or another everyone seems to have been affected. My heart truly goes out to all those harshly impacted by the storm, which unfortunately, is a lot of people. It has been humbling witnessing the out-pour of generosity and care. The ways in which we take care of each other and rise up in times of crisis and how much it tests peoples strengths and weaknesses; sometimes it is surprising but it also really makes sense. We've been doing it throughout time and I have to say, New Yorkers are a tough bunch! 

Talk about tough--as I walked through Prospect Park post-Sandy, taking in all the massive and shredded trees yanked from their roots, enormous branches snapped, I was also really fascinated by how much didn't get damaged! Huge, strong trees came crashing down and yet tiny, feebly looking ones appeared to hold on to every single leaf, unharmed. How can that be? Such is life. 

It has all been pretty inspiringfor me personally. I felt moved to draw and paint with my old paints for the first time in ages, play music I had forgotten about, cook new things, write letters, dance a little, and dream a bit bigger. I know that major disaster triggers a lot for people and have been talking with my clients all week about their various experiences with it. As far as I am concerned, that's even more reason to strengthen and improve upon the health you do have and live more fully right now. I'm not saying that's always an easy task, but it's necessary. 

I just read a quote by Rumi that says "Time is a factory where we all slave away, earning enough love to break our own chains." None of us knows how long we will each exist on this earth, so while we're here, even when the going gets tough--there is so much greatness to be had and a lot we can accomplish together. Although rebuilding takes time, more often than not, the end result is somehow more beautiful than before. At least we have to believe that.