With Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma's recent devastation across the southern U.S., it's a good reminder that it’s important to prepare for the worst. No one wants to be hit by a hurricane, but being unprepared can seriously hurt you. You may not believe that the hurricane will hit at all, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. While this guide cannot guarantee your safety, it can surely help you in making smart decisions.
The other day, a monk from my yoga and meditation group posted a Facebook live video about remaining unperturbed in the face of external stimuli. His comment struck me primarily because I’m not unperturbed. I’m disturbed by every little thing. When the news is bad, I feel bad. When the news is good, I feel good. My mood of late seems to be tied to what’s going on in the world. This is not how I want to live.
Very dismal news came through in October that the Great Barrier Reef had suffered mass bleaching and a major part of it had died. This led environmental writer Rowan Jacobsen to publish an obituary, “The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness. It was 25 million years old." But there’s still hope, and these positive news stories form 2016 certainly prove it right!
Maintaining a fearless optimism in the face of pain, suffering, trauma and violence may seem impossible. How does one acknowledge the suffering of the world, yet not become a product and extension of that suffering? Maintaining a sense of peace and wellbeing through the tumultuous and chaotic occurrences of our world has taken me some time to accomplish.