Having come through Cyclone Yasi unscathed, I have turned my thoughts to understanding what I have learnt from the experience.
One thing I learnt about myself, I don't care about material things. I left my home and did everything I could to protect what we had and not knowing what I would find when we came back. At the height of the cyclone all I was thinking was I am so grateful that my family is together, I knew that if everything was destroyed, that it would only be things, and we could rebuild our life if necessary. It is times like these that the old cliches that you spout of on a regular basis actually take real meaning. It is my family that is most important to me.
The other thing I learnt is that if you busy yourself looking after others then you don't have time to dwell on what 'might' happen. Let me explain. For the days leading up to the cyclone I was quite frantic with making preparations and thinking of what might happen. I really got myself worked up about the what ifs (Hey, I am still learning lessons). Then when all preparations were done, I went to the Nursing Home where my husband works. He was needed there and we wanted to be in the same place when the cyclone hit so we wouldn't be worrying about each other.
When I got to the Nursing Home, I was sent to help out in the ward. Doing little things that would help out the staff, so they could get on with the important work. Helping out stopped me from watching the news, there were too many other things to do to stop and watch TV. Not watching the news meant that I was not getting caught up in the drama of it all. While helping out, I was struck by how sad it was for a lot of these residents and the circumstances they found themselves in. Once lively people who could no longer communicate or live in the world of today. I have such an admiration for the Nursing Staff who work so tirelessly with these people and treat these people with such dignity.
So, Yasi has taught me a couple of things. One, possessions don't matter. Two, when your world looks terrifying, stop, look around and help out someone who is less fortunate than yourself. You lose sight of your own problems and when you do look around, your storm has passed without you noticing.
One thing I learnt about myself, I don't care about material things. I left my home and did everything I could to protect what we had and not knowing what I would find when we came back. At the height of the cyclone all I was thinking was I am so grateful that my family is together, I knew that if everything was destroyed, that it would only be things, and we could rebuild our life if necessary. It is times like these that the old cliches that you spout of on a regular basis actually take real meaning. It is my family that is most important to me.
The other thing I learnt is that if you busy yourself looking after others then you don't have time to dwell on what 'might' happen. Let me explain. For the days leading up to the cyclone I was quite frantic with making preparations and thinking of what might happen. I really got myself worked up about the what ifs (Hey, I am still learning lessons). Then when all preparations were done, I went to the Nursing Home where my husband works. He was needed there and we wanted to be in the same place when the cyclone hit so we wouldn't be worrying about each other.
When I got to the Nursing Home, I was sent to help out in the ward. Doing little things that would help out the staff, so they could get on with the important work. Helping out stopped me from watching the news, there were too many other things to do to stop and watch TV. Not watching the news meant that I was not getting caught up in the drama of it all. While helping out, I was struck by how sad it was for a lot of these residents and the circumstances they found themselves in. Once lively people who could no longer communicate or live in the world of today. I have such an admiration for the Nursing Staff who work so tirelessly with these people and treat these people with such dignity.
So, Yasi has taught me a couple of things. One, possessions don't matter. Two, when your world looks terrifying, stop, look around and help out someone who is less fortunate than yourself. You lose sight of your own problems and when you do look around, your storm has passed without you noticing.
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