My recent writing time has been spent creating the poem and the "piece" below concerning Haiti and the message it offers to all of us.


The Plight of Haiti, The Plight of the World


We are not privy to Spirit’s plan. (Spirit = God, Goddess, Creator, Allah, The Great Spirit, etc). We would so love to know that plan, but perhaps the danger is that if we were privy to it then somehow, in the knowing, the plan would be tainted. The knowing would change our decisions, our direction...the natural course of things. We have theories and ideas, but we really don’t know the plan because we weren’t meant to. Sometimes we have intuitions, moments of clarity...of knowing. When we listen to these jewels our lives play out smoothly; when we don’t, we stumble. This is as close as we normally get to knowing the plan.

So, why was Haiti, a nation already struggling, hit so hard? No one knows...see above. But, one thing I’ve learned in my life is that in disaster there lies a gift. Sometimes we see and understand that gift; other times we do not. On a much smaller level than what took place in Haiti, let’s say in this time of economic stress and strain, you lose your job...disaster! But then later because of this crisis you end up in a new job...one that is better, one that you love...one that you would not have taken the risk, on your own, to discover because you were too afraid to let go of the current job. Maybe you simply felt that nothing better could ever happen for you...that you were stuck. Thus, through this crisis, Spirit “forced” you to improve your life. No longer do you wake up every morning, a loathsome feeling in your belly knowing that you have to force yourself to get up, trudge to the car and face your day. That’s one example, there are many.

True, it is much more difficult to find a gift in what happened in Haiti. When a disaster of this magnitude takes place, we question our faith in Spirit. How could Spirit let this happen?? How can such a terrible thing happen to a country struggling and impoverished? It isn’t fair! We don’t know...we’ll never know. So, Instead of blaming Spirit, perhaps we just move forward, do what we can and somehow, find the gift in this horror. The whys don’t help change the situation. But, WE can.

Maybe Haiti has made a sacrifice to the world, to the universe. Not consciously, but, perhaps as part of the collective unconscious. You see, crisis seems to bring out the best in us as people. It reaches into our hearts and souls and allows us to achieve a level of compassion, camaraderie and unity far beyond that of our daily lives. It takes down the walls of isolation we have created in ourselves. It loosens our purse strings and lets the Scrooge in us fall away, allowing greed to take a hike and generosity to flourish.

Perhaps right now in this time we need to join hands...come together. We are offered so many chances to do this (9-11, Katrina), but when the crisis wanes, we pull back, re-isolate ourselves, become separate once more. Perhaps the only way for this world to truly flourish is to allow one of these disasters and it’s overwhelming message about the need for love, sharing and compassion to keep us together, to keep us caring, to keep us sharing our wealth and our kindness always...not for a few hours, a few days or a few months, but every day for the rest of our lives.

I think about what has happened to the Haitians & I unwittingly feel the pain, the sorrow, the fear. What if that happened to me? What if I was lying underneath the rubble, barely able to breathe, frightened that no one would come for me? Or, worse yet, what if it was my child under there--then what? What if the buildings in my city crumbled to the ground or I lost my family? What if I lived in poverty like the Haitians? What if...???

I struggle every day because my income isn’t enough to cover my expenses. I cry sometimes because of my health or my personal crises. But, I am living the luxurious life compared to so many around the globe. And it’s not that we should minimize our struggles, but perhaps see them with new eyes, a fresh perspective. Catastrophes of this proportion allow us to do this, to see things differently, to change, and to accept our circumstances, to open our hearts and reach out to others. And not only does it make others, such as the Haitians, feel better, safer, less fearful, more hopeful, but it makes us feel better too. People who volunteer live longer, happier lives.

Some of us go into denial when these major calamities occur, afraid to look, afraid our hearts will break, afraid we are powerless. Denial is a safe house, but a false one because the only thing that it brings is lack of awareness which means that when things fall apart around us we are utterly unprepared. So, perhaps it’s time to get our heads out of the sand and do what we can.

We truly need to understand that we are all connected. We hear this, we say this. Easy to say, not so easy to perceive, to integrate, to understand at a deep level. It is during disasters such as what happened in Haiti where this becomes palpable. When a crisis hits one of us, it affects us all. We all live on this planet. We share it. We constantly create borders around us to delineate our countries, our cities, our towns, our homes. This is mine...that is yours. But, we forget that we share the land, the air, our personal space. What one person does to the air in Los Angeles affects the air in San Diego – borders or no borders. If someone hurts or kills a loved one, it affects not just that person, but their family, friends and anyone who hears about it because it brings doubt to our sense of security, our well being. At some level, it affects us all. When we are negative or we gossip about others, it fills the space with unsavory energy and affects the person being gossiped about as well as others who are pulled into the web of negativity. We share whether we like it or not. I think it’s about time for us to like it. To like each other, to love each other, to consider each other and to help each other or we will perish.

One of our biggest survival needs is touch...yes, it is a survival need. There have been studies done on babies who are touched and those who are not that reveal the negative affects on the babies untouched. There is research about the need for touch in adults as well. It’s time for us to touch one another, not only with our hands, but with our hearts.

I could barely stomach the scenes or listen to the stories as I watched the “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon last night. I am very sensitive anyway, but watching that and seeing the reality of it hurt me inside, made me weep with grief, made me feel helpless. But, we are not helpless. I could not give much, but between my daughter and I we gave $20 – a small contribution, but that is all we can do for now and that is okay. What can you do? Give anything--$5 is enough. There is so much more than $5 that goes with the donation. There is an energy about the giving: an affirmative, nurturing, miraculous message of love that goes with it, that is just as powerful, more so, than the money you send. This energy changes people, situations...the air we breathe, the molecules and atoms in our bodies with its unseen, pervasive flow. Everything is energy. Each and every one of us shares the energy that is in us and around us. Yes, we are all connected...we are one and so this old and true wisdom will never rust: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

If you cannot give dollars (and even if you can), then give through prayer or meditation--do it alone or in groups. When people gather in groups for a singular purpose the energy created for that purpose is powerful and transformative. Visualize a healthy, restored, abundant Haiti. Envisioning also carries with it a potent energy for change.

Let us not dishonor the message that Haiti’s crisis is sending us. Take my hand and the hand of your neighbor and let us touch each other realizing that this one touch is felt by the whole world.


Haitian Child

A young child
struggles
under the rubble,
alone & lonely,
crying out for
help,
reaching up
toward the light
but harbored in
darkness,
broken bones,
broken heart,
breathing in the
chalky dust
of the crumbled
building
fallen above her,
around her,
thoughts lost
in the dull
throb of pain,
the odd
sense of
consciousness,
in and
out
here and
gone,
when cognizant,
praying for
discovery.
Mommy, is
that you?
But, no
a figment,
a voice within
a yearning,
a hope.
Then she
awakens.
someone is
pulling,
voices are real,
after hours
she is out,
squinting
against the
light
she is one of
the lucky ones,
carried to
a tent.
she waits...
and waits
thirsty,
hurting.
she hears
the buzz
around her,
stores of
water, food,
medications
are meager.
Now that she
is here
will there
be enough
for her?


Linda J. Wolf
1/23/10