A Speck of Light
“We create most of our suffering, so it should be logical that we also have the ability to create more joy. It simply depends on the attitudes, the perspectives, and the reactions we bring to situations and to our relationships with other people. When it comes to personal happiness there is a lot that we as individuals can do.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash
It was September 2001. 7:30 am. Queens, New York.
I remember getting out of my bed feeling slightly unmotivated thinking I have to go to work tonight. I have already graduated from college with a B.S. in Pharmacy working at a hospital in uptown Manhattan while going back to school pursuing my graduate degree.
It was not an unusual morning for me as I turned on my coffee machine and make some toasts, sat down in front of the television watching the morning news. Suddenly, live feed came through on the news as a plane approaching one of the twin towers at the time. I watched the plane, along with millions of other Americans, into the first tower.
“Holy shit!” was my immediate reaction.
I sat there for a moment and then yelled everyone in my family to come and watch the news. We were in disbelieve.
The following few days, New Yorkers were in fear, stress, anxiety, and shock. Many of us, including myself, travel to major highways, public transportation to and from work. Road closures and traffic was at its peak. People walked miles and miles out of the city on foot to the nearby boroughs. Life is never going to be the same for New Yorkers since September 11, 2001.
Photo by Jesse Mills on Unsplash
Soon after 911, New Yorkers began to modify the way we live, many of us installed landline at our home as backups. Emergency preparation readiness was the focus of many schools, organizations, and institutions, emphasizing the importance of planning our escape routes, having extra supplies of food and water at all times when disaster happens.
In the trunk of my vehicle, I have a duffle bag full of clothing to change, a pair of sneakers, snacks, water, as well as a flashlight, and first aid kits. Emergency Preparation Readiness had been engrained into everyday life that it was no surprise to me when I moved to Los Angeles, California I would do the same to be earthquake ready.
“The only constant in life is change”-Heraclitus
We are all living at an interesting time right now. Change is something we are all experiencing, small and big. Some of these changes are temporary, while others will be permanent and irreversible. There is a lot of uncertainty and a lot of speculations. While life may seem to be out of control outside of us, the resiliency within us is a force not to be reckoned with.
If you can understand fear as a natural body response and what you are going through right now is perfectly normal, then you can begin to choose consciously what you want to do with that fear: you can let the power of fear take control of you or you can choose love.
Choosing love means you act out of love. Choosing love means you see things out of love. Choosing love means you speak words out of love.
After 911, I remember going to work one day and a policeman walked into the pharmacy I was staffing at the time asking for help. He looked distressed, dark circles around his eyes, and tiny speckles of dust visible from the uniform he wore. He leaned to the wall and ask if he could buy an inhaler to help him breathe. I walked over to the shelf and opened up a pack of albuterol, a bronchodilator for the treatment of asthma, and hand it over to him.
Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash
Acting out of love doesn’t have to be like this. Acting out of love can be as small as greeting each other on the street, on the phone, or whenever we made eye contact. Acting out of love at the time of crisis brings people together; it builds bridges and creates bonds. Acting out of love means we take others' safety as part of our own personal responsibility.
I am you and You are me.
We can not create peace by spreading fear and violence. We create peace by exercising solidarity, compassion, empathy. Rather than fear or try to avoid it, our best course of action is to accept it, meet it head n and allow it to be a constructive force in our lives.
Perhaps what we are going through right now will change our lives forever, I am certain that humanity will show the best of who we are collective. Even at the darkest night, a speck of light will always shine in. There is Hope within the heart of human kindness.
Warmly,
Michelle
