I was watching the coverage of Haiti on 60 Minutes and 20/20 last week, and the images broke my heart. One of the most searing was of a tractor scooping up dead bodies. I saw a dangling leg, and I just lost it. I felt like there was absolutely no dignity left in the lives of these people. How do you move past a tragedy like this? How do your emotions begin to process the loss? Can we help this devastated place recover? Will the money donated be properly utilized to rebuild the country? Will the victims and survivors have access to the psychological help they need to rebuild internally as well? How do they even begin?
During the coverage, a doctor that was interviewed commented that Haitians can never go back to life the way it used to be. These words really spoke to me, and we probably each interpreted them in a way that was different and specific to our lives. Can we be more conscious in our living and our giving? Will an experience like this that seems so far from our realm of reality wake us up in our own lives? Why is it that when something like this happens, it feels as if we are in a waking sleep and suddenly, in a moment, we are overcome with appreciation? We are awakened.
Seeing so many orphaned children made me wish I had the means to adopt several of them. What will happen to the spirits of these individuals? How will they move forward with life when they've lost so much? I like to believe that for some of them, life will change for the better. Their society will be rebuilt by the labor of love, and while their city as they knew it will be dead, a new one will prosper and grow. I am sure that some of them will be adopted into loving families and be given a future they never would have had. This is the optimist in me that wants to make sense of all of this.
In my own life, writing plays a big role. I am a story consultant. I have an energy inside me that makes me constantly interpret life, understand it, teach it and pass story forward. I love nothing more than when I see a writer take a tragedy in their lives and turn it into something that we can all learn from and connect with. My hope is that story will help the Haitian people. Creating story is a beautiful outlet for attempting to make sense of things when our world is turned upside down. I know that story will definitely come out of this devastating event. I've already heard some of the tales of heroic efforts and human kindness. Acts of kindness take on a whole new meaning when you are vulnerable and in time of need.
After tragedies like this, we become more aware of the people in our lives, the roof over our heads, the warmth that we know and the sense of accomplishment we are able to feel on a daily basis. We wake up a little, even if it is just for a moment. It is learning to remain awake that is the challenge. Life is a precious gift.
I have a Storywise Seminar coming up at UCLA on February 27th. It is for television writers or anyone that aspires to work in television and pass their stories forward. Part of the proceeds of this event will be donated to the rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti. For more information and to sign up, go to www.jengrisanticonsultancy.com.