Courage of Our Questions and Depths of our Answers

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A quote I recently read captured my thoughts. "We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers." — Carl Sagan

One of the worst questions to ask ourselves is, "Why me?" because there is no answer for that kind of question and takes us, and keeps us, in a bad state of mind with no answer to be had. So rather than ask the "why me" kind of question, I'm asking, "How do I relate to what's happening to me right now?" I'm not always successful in answering that question but it points me in the right direction.

Over the holidays and recent weeks I've watched the work on our home slow to a crawl. The weather hasn't been our friend and new issues popping up structurally has put other work on hold. As frustrated as I am, I know the builders are working hard and doing everything they can in spite of the horrible weather, delays with materials and other glitches that seem to occur on a regular basis.

Life doesn't stop because of the tornado but it does get a whole lot fuller and busier with constant trips to the house, making decisions and dealing with issues in addition to the rest of life's busyness.

A wonderful bi-product of this all is now I understand my neighbours in new ways, especially as I've experienced the strength of the collective community. We're all dealing with the trauma, the pain of seeing our homes broken and beaten, but come together to deal with that pain with gratitude, and camaraderie. I also realise as time seems to evaporate, it's easy to get lost in life, taking the important people in our lives for granted and leave things unsaid. I want to say that having our neighbours and friends around us, commiserating with us, touching base here and there, or a dinner together to stay in touch as we're dispersed for now, means everything. Even though our neighbourhood lies bare in the cold winter without the trees providing a protective canopy for the onslaught of snow, our neighbourhood still nourishes me and my feeling of well-being because I know we're not alone in this.

Another ripple effect of this is learning how to do triage as to what I take on and what I have to set aside for now. There is only so much drive and energy one has and in times like this, it's even more paramount that I make the best choices to not become totally depleted of both.

The people around us not only make our corner of the world a better place but helps us be our best selves.

So I can't wait to congregate around our mailbox again and shoot the breeze, have our neighbours pop in for tea in a quiet moment in our hectic world and be at the point where we can look back at this as a distant memory. It won't fade really as this kind of trauma doesn't just disappear, but to look at this as a strengthening bond between us that will shape our relationships for a lifetime. For that, I am eternally grateful.

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