Through the Looking Glass: Hold My Hand, We’ll Be Okay--Thoughts on Resiliency, Love and Human Comp

“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.”-- Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven

It’s been just over three weeks since the Camp Fire tore through our homes, leaving in its ashes unprecedented loss and at the same time a community so bonded through combined human experience I have to wonder if it’s God’s twisted way of showing us what love looks like when everything gets stripped away. For my friends and family members who are in the middle of hell, I choose these words carefully… with no intention of minimizing the trauma and with a pain so deep in my heart I can’t name it.

With that said, have we as a community, in some unfathomable way, been given an opportunity so big we can’t begin to wrap our heads around it? Have we been offered the chance to see love and selflessness in action in a way we wouldn’t have been able to see before the flames ignited? As I witness simple and profound acts of aiding others, of nurturing social bonds through service, I have to believe they are what make us resilient in the long run-- both individually and as a community.

I am one of the lucky ones, scarred only by the stories and peripherally touched by the horrific losses experienced by close friends and family. I sit here with a hot cup of coffee and warm bed, a sense of guilt washing over me for those out in the cold, for those thousands of people still seeking shelter. I help fire victims where I can: a few dollars to this person, a few dollars to that one. I volunteer my time to be part of the solution. I choose to think that these simple acts contribute to a stronger bond among us all, that there’s some ripple effect that touches you in some teeny, tiny way.

I work in economic development. Conversations about what community resiliency looks like in the aftermath of devastation are varied but I believe they have one common thread: love. The answers to our next chapter reside in “we the people”--in the ways we step up to help, in the ways we use our pain and experience to further the common good. I don’t know what the future holds, but as we move forward I challenge you—I challenge myself--to contribute to our resiliency through simple acts of kindness and compassion. Give the smile. Give the hug. Lend an ear. For that, we will all be stronger.