I lived in Hawaii for 10 years. Four of those years were on the Big Island, home to Kilauea Volcano. I had the incredible opportunity to stand on the edge of a lava field and watch molten lava flow from deep inside the earth. For some communities, the lava flow was destructive and devastating. At the same time, the flow of lava created new earth. The size of the Big Island has continued to grow and grow. One of the things I found delight in were the ferns that grew up through the cracks in the lava fields. Signs of life-- beautiful green-- in the midst of the blackness. Life prevails!
In these exceedingly difficult times related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is gratifying when we can discover opportunities to embrace life fully, to love more deeply and to rise to the challenges we are facing in ways we never thought we could. Each day, even in spite of dire news, there are bright spots that bring hope in the resilience and courage of humanity that is being demonstrated. Ordinary individuals have moved quickly through despair to acceptance, they have persevered through unimaginable challenges and they have acknowledged the importance of remaining connected to their families and communities that give them the strength for acceptance and perseverance.
While the orders of magnitude of COVID-19 wreckage are many times the impact that some natural disasters have inflicted on people and communities (to date), I am reminded of a piece I posted four years ago about
The Transcendent Lessons of Hurricanes
. We can choose to view difficulties as opportunities to grow and learn.
Acceptance
.
First, we must accept what we cannot control. As I wrote then, “
When we truly accept that there are some things we cannot control, it helps...
Perseverance
. To the scientists who are working on vaccines for COVID-19. To the doctors and nurses who get up each day and don their PPE knowing that they are...
Connectedness
. Following a
natural disaster, we are always inspired by those communities who pull together to rebuild--both physically and emotionally...
