Waiting On The Storm

Out in the middle of the Gulf Of Mexico lies a storm racing towards our home. They seem to be lining up in the Atlantic Basin, as a seemingly calculated attack on the shores of our cities. In ancient times people would surely believe " the Gods must be angry ".
As we watched for days the devastating impact this latest hurricane, Wima, has battered the Yucatan peninsula, we are now ourselves at the mercy of this oncoming storm. We are only a few hours away from the Hurricane making land fall and shortly be here at our door steps. It's a catch 22, you wish for the Hurricane to change directions and head for somewhere else, but how can we wish this storm upon our neighbors, or any one else for that matter? We're forced to accept that it's coming here to us, and can only pray that we will all survive and that the storm will detensify and spare us from too much damage, and more importantly, human lives.
In the mean time we sit here watching The Weather Channel as we watch, no change in the projected path and soon to feel the outer bands of the storm. This gives the phrase " sitting ducks " a whole new meaning. Helpless, yet not hopeless, we've been through this many times and we pretty much know what to expect, and it's not pretty. There are tornado warnings across our area and that is as big if not bigger a threat than the Hurricane, only the tornados impact is on a small area where they come and go in a matter of minutes, but the devastation is incredible.
It's amazing how people are so loving and caring to each other during a disaster or afterwards during the relief efforts. It seems like it takes a tragedy to bring out the good qualities in people. We forget our differences and our disputes, and come together as one, which I believe was the way we were intended to live among each other. It's times like these that make us realize how fragile our lives are, and puts us in our place as guests, and only guests on this planet. Maybe this is someone's way of reminding us that no matter how strong our will, we are not the ones calling the shots here. May we all find a way to come together without a need for a traumatic event, but that doesn't seem very likely. It's ashame, because it's a beautiful thing when we are able to see the goodness inside of us all, and we lead with our hearts and compassion.

Written by Jay Bartels Please visit Jay at http://www.jaysplan.com