Thursday, April 18, 2013

In honor of human capacities in West, TX and Boston, MA


There is no way to explain the emotional toll of so many man-made disasters in the last week. The immediate response is to feel overwhelmed, helpless, and hopeless. Fortunately, with the passage of words, reframing your thought process from the events from terrible things to small miracles and the exhibit of resilience of the human spirit. Two elderly people come to my awareness. The first one was a 78 year old who was blown away by the bombing in the finish line at Boston. One would have thought that this man was hurt, yet he managed to get up complete the marathon and participate in a TV interview a couple of hours later. The other was an older fellow who experienced that silo explosion last night. When he came on TV this morning he was bloodied and seemed that he had just experienced a horrible experience, which he did, about an hour ago he came back on TV, composed, shaved, and with the assurance that all was well.   

We have been taught about these types of reactions. These two old guys were doing the best they could do, to re-assure the public that all was well. They were bringing a calming effect to the situation. Altruism and compassion are two behaviors that we saw in both explosions (Boston and West). Everyone was helping each other as much as they could. Allowing the community members to actively participate in their own recovery is a very healing activity. It builds up the resilience of the individual and the community. I would be interested in following up on some of that population that seemed victimized by these two explosions a year from now. I am sure and assured, by my religious beliefs, that they will be victorious!!!

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