For the past week a "system" has been stuck over Haiti bringing with it crazy amounts of rain (even more crazy then normal and believe me when I say rain in Haiti is crazier then anything I have ever experienced!!). In a place where many are still living in tents, a place where land in so unstable due to deforestation, a place where there is no formal storm sewers (not really any sewers to drain even the non-storm stuff...) one can imagine the kind of havoc a week of rains and torrential downpours can bring...
Last night one of the hills upon which many tents are precariously perched gave way..
Many people were asleep when the hill was unable to absorb anymore of the water
13 people died as the land turned to mud and rushed down the hillside...
This past spring was a cold one out here in western Canada and although I so wanted summer to begin I reminded myself time and time again how lucky I am... Yeah it gets downright cold and dark here in the winter and summers are all too short BUT and this is a big one...I know what to expect...
always!!
The possibility of any of the following happening are slim to none (I don't say never because for those of you not aware we once had an F4 tornado rip through this area) So I can say it would be very unlikely for any of the following to happen here..
An Earthquake (of Haiti proportion)
A famine
A cholera epidemic
So although at times I might be forced to put on another sweater or turn the heat either up or down I know I am safe from the epic trials that mother nature can throw at us on this earth..
Last night, Dr. Jen said that she hates being pessimistic and that she always tries to focus on the "positives" of this little country. It was good for me to read that as I know I often dwell in the tragedies instead of the victories, deal in the currency of sadness instead of joy and all too often focus on the helplessness of the situation instead of the hope...
I wish for my focus to change, check that I want and need for my focus to change..only I can do that..I know that...
My heart does break a little each time tho for the seemingly unfair and unjust circumstances that befall that little country...and like Jen said last night one can't help but think of the cold, wet, tired and scared people living there...people that I have gotten to know and care deeply about..I am humbled by the Haitian people who have shown true courage under fire time and time again!!!
And there are others that are there doing amazing, courageous and positive things...people who time and time again step up and offer help without even being asked...people who care about there fellow humans..care about their struggles and their victories..
So tonight all I can do from the uncomfortable comfort of my living room is pay homage to those people and to the people of Haiti for once again humbling me...
"Each form of life supports all others, together they weave the grand web of life. Thus there really is no happiness for oneself alone, no suffering that afflicts only others"
The rains are supposed to continue for the rest of the week, getting worse Thursday and Friday...I am going to hope that those weathermen are holding true to form and are wrong (no offense to any weathermen out there....)
(Thank you LP (MMRC), P.J Pitts and all those on the ground in Haiti...your love and courage is unmatched in this world!)
