The time may have come for me to leave St. Lucia, On my way to the airports more and more stories what is happening in the island came to my attention. People and authorities are now seeing the damage and destruction of Hurricane Tomas.
The reports are that at least 4 deaths have been confirmed in the South West of the Island, where landslides destroyed several homes. Even here at the airport many of the workers showed their concern for colleges that had lost everything due to the Hurricane.
I meet two persons that had no heard from their family members in a town on the South West, communication has not yet been restored and may be several days as rivers have destroyed bridges, poles, lines and several utilities and services centers.
One can see that the people around care and are worried about the wellbeing of everyone in the island. I am not sure if it is their inclination for hospitality as a Caribbean island, but a smile even when they are hurting themselves.
I see so much foreigners (Tourist may be) concern about leaving the island of saving some money on hotels or complaining about they services available – when what ever we could be going through will shortly be forgotten and we get back to our homes with air-conditioning and cable tv, they have to work hard to rebuild what they have lost and some may never be replaced.
Interesting the reactions of different people under similar circumstances, we are alive. Sure I miss my wife and can’t wait to see her, hug her and kiss her, but I wonder how many people may not be able to see their love ones for many more days or know if they are even alive right now.
We are call to be patient and to have the capacity to feel other people’s pain, and be able to adapt in order to seek the best outcome for everyone.
I am sure one can be astonish to know the difference that a smile or a gesture of kidneys can do for a person. I tell you that it is in these circumstances one learns the incredible value of care.
This can even be experienced in our personal life, with our spouses and love-ones, many times we don’t take time to see what may be happening for them and we fail to understand how important a smile is a kiss an I love you. Even if some times we have to forget our our worries.
I pray that we may continue on learning the important things of life, learning the valuable aspects of relationships and the power of relationships. For now, let us keep on working, keep on teaching, let us keep on helping, keep on living.