Where to Now?

The recent tragedies around the world have surfaced learning lessons for us all. All we have to do is stop and take a hard look at the aftermath. In the case of Katrina, we learned how unprepared we were to handle a major tragedy in the U.S. We also learned that major racial tensions that we tend to pretend away by citing successful people of color are alive and well. All we need is a major mass event to surface such feelings of separation and polarization.

We've also learned that those directly impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have been forced to reexamine every aspect of their lives: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. They have been forced to examine "who they are" without the trappings of wealth, friends, and material possessions. At some level, they have also been forced to examine what are their most important values that will destine and sustain their future.

There is also a lesson for each of us who apparently play the role of observer. These tagedies can also be a mirror-reflection of own lives. We don't need a tragedy in our own communities to examine our attitudes and behaviors toward those who are different, by income, race, sex, culture, nationality, language, sexual orientation, etc. I'm sure we'll find some dimension of righteousness we feel others should be or not be. In this way, we contribute to the disharmony that others play out for us.

What I'm suggesting is that external tragedies can serve as interventions to have us stop and examine our own inner tragedies to learn something about ourselves that can serve us in achieving the quality of life we all desire. The basic nugget of wisdom here is "The outer is a reflection of the inner." Whatever is not as we expect it to be in our lives is sourced from some unresolved element within us! In other words, undesireable external situations we experience are really directing us to look inward for ultimate resolution.

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