Sifting Through the Rubble of Life

When there's a disaster area in the world, our hearts and minds and television screens are turned toward the people whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the event. Sometimes, we are riveted to the television screen, like people in the United States were after the events of 9/11, or in the aftermath of Katrina, a horrific look into what life is like for many, many people in the United States, even now.

We watch as relief workers sift through the rubble of floods and fire and torrential rains and tornadoes to look for what is left of people's lives there, in those dark places.

Sometimes our lives are like these scenes of disaster, too. After a death, in the throes of divorce, an illness that plagues ourselves or someone we love very much, the loss of our life's work... sometimes these events drive on and on, one after the other, until we left standing in the rubble. Where do we begin again? How do we begin again?

We begin gingerly. We reach down into the rubble, to find whatever is left of life in what once was our life. We may have to put on gloves to protect ourselves from what we will find in the rubble. It's a mess, and this mess is our life. We begin, gingerly.

We begin by getting rid of the debris, until we see what is left that we want. When we've cleared enough of the rubble away, we can begin to decide what we want to salvage, and what we want to leave behind. Some of the things we thought were important before the disaster won't be important at all, afterward.

What do you want to salvage? If today were your last day on earth, what would you choose to be part of this day? If this is the only life you have, how do you want to live your life? What do you value most? Do you have what you value in your life today, or not? You have to get down to the basics, now.

Warmly,
meb