This morning I look outside and hear the rain falling at a steady gate and the wind gusting just a bit. In this moment I am filled with gratitude that we have been spared the devastation that nature has been baring down on us in so many places around the world in the last two weeks.
Irma, Jose, Maria, earthquakes, politics.. If you're a believer in the End Times this sure looks like a run in that direction. The news is steeped in, oozing of and is saturated with disaster, destruction, fear and impending doom. What do we do with all of this input and information? From a distance we cannot physically touch so many who are suffering, it is overwhelming to say the least. I do find myself hesitating more then I ever did before when asked "to support Irma victims" off the cuff at my local grocery store or random pop up requests online. GoFundme pages are all over the web and how do you know it's legitimate anymore. So many scams, faux websites, identity theft possibilities, knowing that there are some that take advantage of these weak moments to rob, rape and steal... Still, I want to do something.
Locally is usually where I start. There are always extra collections at our church when these things happen. The funds go directly into a bigger pot gathered from all over the world and are sourced to the highest need, offering food, water, medical support and respite for the people already deployed to help in those areas that have been hit the hardest. But for me, dropping a twenty into a basket just doesn't feel like enough somehow. Being tactile and creative in most everything I do I tend to want to "make something".. Secondary needs, such as comfort or contact in a more tangible way. I am thinking on it still. The higher and more immediate need is supplies, volunteering of time and resources and for now that means money. It will bring what is needed for the greater good, but the comfort is still needed too, so I'll keep the other in mind for now.
Some disasters aren't always big and devastating nor to the magnitude that we have been witnessing on CSPAN, The Weather Channel or Fox News these last few weeks. But disasters can be alarming as they should be, not for dramas sake or for the fight or flight response to surge and kick in, but more so, that we take notice. That we look up and are aware of what is going on around us. Personal disasters are not as catastrophic by the worlds standards and are felt and witnessed on a much smaller scale, but they exist in the midst of all the other alarms and they happen all the time closer to home.
An apathetic response to overwhelming need is a thing that I struggle with sometimes. Which fires do you help put out? Where do you pool your resources? What is the best way to support this and heal that? Who will help you? When is the best time? Should you go it alone and know where you stand or join others in a common cause? All of these questions can leave me stunned and stuck in a place of inaction. Over many years I have learned that when I get this way I need to take a backward step so that I don't stay frozen. Then in that step back I cultivate a space and pray. Prayer for me in those frozen places brings a pause and in that quiet reflection I am able to discern all of those questions and the voice that answers is familiar and one that is always divinely led. "Use your gifts."
So how do I use my gifts in the big and small of it all is what this is boiling down to. No cause for alarms, banners, social media updates or drama seem to be needed, not even money most of the time. Mostly what I'm feeling drawn to in the bigness of the big stuff is to use whatever gifts my divine advisor suggests and use them in small ways. Pretty simple actually."Do small things with great love"~ St. Mother Teresa
A friend once told me that I had such a diverse personality attention wise (she was being kind), that using one or two word commands like the Buddhist tradition suggests would be far more productive in prompting my action, in my inaction. Mmmmh.. Seems wise enough for me. So here it is....
STEP BACK. LOOK UP. NOTICE. PRAY. LISTEN. TRUST. ACT SMALL. REPEAT.
Feel free to join me!
Peace Always~Denice
