Hurricane Erika

Watching the path of destruction of hurricane Erika to the little forgotten Caribbean Island Dominica, certainly makes one stop and put their life into perspective.  It’s amazing how in an instant homes can be completely destroyed, a family’s belongings can be washed away, and people can experience the loss of literally all their material possessions.  Things that they may have worked years and year to accumulate can be gone in literally a second.  And one has to ponder how much that person had to sacrifice of their life in order to accumulate those things.  I can’t help but wonder if they look back and wish they could have done things differently now that they have seen how quickly the things they accumulated could be swept away.  Would that five minutes of playtime with their child now mean more than the late night list of to-do’s?   It certainly makes you stop and think, doesn’t it?

And for those who lose their lives in natural disasters…what do they look back and wish they had done differently in their lives?  What would they wish they had done more of and what do they wish they would have done less of?  I certainly think I would wish I had worried less in my life, especially because worrying doesn’t ever change the outcome of things.  I certainly think I would wish I had spent more time laughing with my girls and less time worrying about calling people who owed us money at the shop.  And I am sure I would wish I had appreciated every single moment of life that I had been blessed with.  Every smile.   Every friend.  Every tear.  Every laugh.  Every challenge.  Every lesson.  Every moment.

I think it is healthy for us to sit back sometimes and consider how we would feel if we knew our life would end today?  And how would we feel if we lost everything we had?  What would we wish we had done different and what would we value more?  And once we have thought through those questions we should use our answers to change our lives today.  Right Now.  While we still have the chance to do things differently.   We should never live our lives in a way we will regret.  We should live our lives with joy and passion and through the eyes of perspective. Because life is too short and too precious not to! 

I thought about all the stuff we accumulate since today everything we brought over from the DR finally came. There are about 60 boxes to go through. They are possessions we felt we needed to bring but now I am convinced that perhaps we brought way too much stuff. We need to move again in a few weeks and that is why having the shipment arrived so soon was an inconvenience but at list I keep telling myself: " We are doing what we love because we are on the Lord's errand."  and any inconvenience is worth it! 

Con amor,

Vero