Baring Witness

  My heart is filled with sorrow today. I am watching the devastation so far from where I live and yet so close to my heart. While I have yet to visit New Jersey, I fell in love with New York the moment I saw that beautiful place called Manhattan. I had tole myself that I would not. I was not going to be one of those tourists that wandered aimlessly, moon eyed by all that they encountered. I have never been more wrong. The beauty of it all, the food...oh goodness the food, the people, the shopping, Time Square, Broadway. I was a goner the moment I gazed upon that magical place. And so, as I stayed up much too late to watch the water pour in, carried on an unforgiving wind, I cried. I watched the water rise and the lights go out. I could do nothing. I prayed. First, under my breath and then as I became overcome by the images, out loud. I was tired and wrung out when I finally laid my head down. It was well after midnight when I tried to shut it all out and find a peace in such hard times.

  Upon waking, I was back to it. All the TVs blaring the news 24 hours a day by now. I could not stop myself. I could not turn away. It reminded me of Katrina. That horrid wicked beast. Who has swept through the Gulf Coast leaving no one untouched. And again, I felt the sense of helplessness. There was nothing I could do but to bare witness. To look at all the damage. Acknowledge the pain and the loss and mourn. I stayed that way for sometime. Overwhelmed by what my eyes beheld. Unable to think of what I could do. Wishing for powers no human possess. And so, I felt lost, hopeless, for a time. But as always happens, eventually, I turned my mind away from those things I could not do. The things I could not change. I moved on to what I could do. What we can all do. Reach out. Reach out to those in need and to give what I could. My words, my time, my money. Since it is all I have, it will have to be enough. I will do whatever I can to lift a little weight off someone else's shoulders. I cannot wish it all away. i have no mystical words that will put it all back together. Oh, how I wish that I did.

  But that is beyond me. I am also reminded of that day in September, so long ago. When again, there was nothing to do but bare witness. To take it all in. To number the lost and the broken. Sometimes that is all we can do. As calls and texts came in, different people checking in to say they were fine. That they had lost a car, a house, a neighbor, we listened.  It is a terrible feeling, when you realize how small we all are. How precious this life is and all the wonderful souls that are in it. I am still here, listening. Watching and praying. Praying for strength, for peace, for safety for miracles. I know it is not over. Long after Sandy has left, the devastation will continue. This will take years, decades to repair. And of course, so much lost cannot be mended. I am unused to sitting in the rubble, looking at so much loss and not being compelled to DO something. We must all do something.

  I do not know your circumstances dear reader. I have no idea your blessings or talents. But please, take a few moments, send up some prayers and if you can, give to the cause. You know that rainy day you have been saving for? It has arrived. With a torrent of rain and sea, it is upon us. Look in your pockets, check the couch for change. Rob the piggie banks. Look in all your hiding places. Where you tuck away a few spare dollars. Take up a fund in your neighborhood, your community, your church. Come together and give. It is the least we can do. I have lost nothing. I have more than I will every need. I live in a world of abundance. If you have a roof over your head, and food on the table, then you do too. Forego that pack of cigarettes, that latte, one mani/pedi. Whatever it takes. Let us all stand and lift those effecting by this natural disaster. I hope you are well dear reader. I hope life is treating you gently. That you are loved and that you love. That you know, you are never alone. And with that certainty of knowing that all is well in your world, you step out of it and help those who need you most. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay sailing on.