Thursday, April 28, 2011

Musings on the morning after the storm

Good morning!

I am so grateful for this morning and I should be SO grateful for this particular morning because I can say that I weathered the storms of last night and I know that so many were not so lucky. Tornadoes were the theme of the day yesterday and our neighbors in Ringgold are devastated as many of their homes, businesses and family members/friends are gone. In an instant, people went from planning their summers, planning the days ahead to trying to figure out how they are going to pick up the pieces. It's terrible and sad and I am sending out so much love and hope and prayer to those who are suffering this morning, even as the sun shines so brightly this morning, masking the darkness that is lingering in these hearts and hearts of people all over the Southeast.

I got up this morning, still without power, and decided I would head down to Chattz to take advantage of internet and power to charge my cell phone. On my way in, I passed through North Chattanooga where every streetlight, every home, every business was dark. It was eerie. There's something about the lack of light that is really sobering. It's a hopeless feeling, this darkness and the physical darkness is just a tangible reminder that not all is well and it's terribly sad. I can only hope and pray and hope that the darkness subsides quickly.

I also recognized during the storm what it really means to be alone. I live alone and while I enjoy it most of the time, being alone during something like that when my phone and power - my connections to other people - were not working properly was terribly scary and painful. I always think that I am perfectly happy living my solitary existence, but in those hours when the wind was whipping and the lightning struck, I felt more alone than I ever have in my life. Fortunately, I know and am secure in the fact that I have so much love in my life and so many people that would be there for me in a minute if I needed them, so I could hold onto that, but the lack of physical presence of another person was more difficult than I had ever anticipated. It just reminds me that we are not meant to wander this planet alone. We are meant to share our lives and our love and our presence with others. We are meant to be tied to other beings. It makes us human. It makes us beings created in love. It makes us whole.

I don't know much, but I know how much more whole I feel when I am with all of you and I am so very grateful. I hope everyone is safe and sound and I love you all dearly.

xoxo,
Hayley

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