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| Photo courtesy Sammy Sander via Pixabay |
I lived for many years in the area of Southern California that
is currently burning. So far, to my knowledge and with one exception, my
friends are safe and have not had to evacuate. The exception? A college friend
lost her family home of 33 years in the Eaton fire.
Recovering after a hurricane is terrible—but recovering after
a fire? I imagine it’s worse. With a hurricane, unless you’re in the very worst
of it, your house is likely still standing and you can salvage personal
belongings. With a fire like the ones raging now, all that’s left is ash.
I was talking about the fires with a friend, and she
mentioned Robert Frost’s poem, Fire and Ice, in passing. I looked it up,
and in a few short lines, using the metaphors of fire and ice, he notes the danger
of destruction we face from both desire and hate. Here is Frost’s poem:
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
While many, many people are helping survivors and firefighters,
there are always the few who lead with hate. Whose first response is to point
fingers, spread misinformation, and react with glee to the misfortune of
others. These reactions just add to the pain and confusion. Almost every
situation is more complicated and nuanced than we can easily comprehend.
The scale of the disasters the U.S. has faced this year is
mind-blowing. I find myself grieving and overwhelmed, wondering what I can do.
It’s too easy to do nothing, when what you can do seems insufficient. I recently
came upon a saying, credited to Andy Stanley, that has helped me:
Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.
I can be kind to those I come into contact with every day. (This
means online as well as in person!)
I can look for the positive rather than focus on the negative.
And while I can’t go to L.A. and distribute food and clothes, I
can donate money to organizations who are on the ground helping out. It might
not be much, but maybe it can help one person. Helping one person is better
than helping no one.
If you would like to help, click here for the Los Angeles Times’ guide to helping victims of the Southern California fires.
To double check the legitimacy of charitable organizations, visit the Charity Navigator website.
My friend has a GoFundMe page to help her family rebuild their home, which you can find here.
My friend Kerri organized a GoFundMe page for her friend who also lost everything, here.
