Hey, there! I'm sure you've noticed my absence. Clearly, I had OD'd on the Social Media Networks and needed more of a break than I thought. So I really did take one. But now I've returned. And I've returned with an inspiring message from a writer I know who lives in New York but spends a lot of time abroad--often in poverty-stricken countries, such as Africa.
In her new assignment--based on a grant she received from The Pulitzer Center--she'll be writing now about Haiti's recovery after the earthquake. Something she wrote in this blog post caught my eye, and I just had to share it here with you. She wrote:
"There is a Haitian saying, “Dèyè mòn, gen mòn.” Beyond mountains, there are more mountains. Once you have survived one obstacle, there is always another to overcome. Yes, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with a tragic history of ills, both natural and manmade, but her people, undaunted by the cruel blows of fate, continue to climb."
It is true. We will always have obstacles to overcome. That is life. And with stories like the ones my writer friend, Lisa Armstrong, will be writing for The Pulitzer Center, you see the greater good. You will see the value of embracing obstacles as lessons in growth. You will see your challenges in a more positive light. You will remember that no matter how bad you think you have it, there is always someone who has it worse. And if someone else has it worse than you, what is there to complain about?
Certainly, we can consider ourselves lucky; we are not Haitians trying to build a place to sleep out of whatever we can find beside the rubble--wood, sheets, plastic, blankets, as Lisa reports. We have a warm space to rest our weary bodies. We do not have to rely on relief organizations to feed our starving bellies. And even if we without a job at the moment, we know if we look hard enough, we will find exactly what we need. Even the Haitians, Lisa says, believe this.
And I know in my heart and in my soul that if the people who are overcoming the most natural of disasters can believe in a future, then so can I. How about you?
(You can find more of Lisa's inspiring stories from Haiti here.)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
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4 comments:
Exactly what I needed to hear today. Thanks, Jackie!
Oh, Jennifer, indeed, there is a future for you. You are already way ahead of the game, much further along than I was when I was in your place. And you are going to surprise yourself. Your instincts are right on target, so trust that you will make the choices that will work best for you and your boys. Your faith, your higher power, whatever you believe in, has already picked you up from your fall. Trust that it won't let go.
I know a lot of Americans have it it really rough in this economy. Many of us, for the first time in our lives, are dealing with long-term unemployment, loss of health insurance and struggling to keep all of the material things we've worked to attain throughout the years. However, I think something such as the massive suffering in Haiti does put it in perspective.
The other night I had a nightmare that startled me awake, but still quite conscious of how dreadful a North Korean prisoner-of-war camp must be. That's where I had been in my dreams. Now, whenever my husband or I feel the least bit depressed, we remind each other of North Korea and count our blessings.
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