Lessons from Hurricane Milton

Surviving a hurricane is one thing, but what comes after can be truly transformative. 🌪️✨ In this episode, we delve into the aftermath of Hurricane Milton as it swept through Siesta Key, Florida. Our host shares personal stories about resilience and community spirit in the face of adversity. From empty grocery shelves to long lines at gas stations, discover how people come together when crisis strikes.

Key takeaways from this heartfelt discussion include:
- The importance of preparedness and maintaining positivity during challenging times.
- How crises can strengthen community bonds and foster unexpected connections.
- Embracing a "can-do" attitude to navigate life's disruptions with grace.

Tune in for an inspiring narrative on finding strength amid chaos and learning valuable life lessons along the way!

Good morning. I hope this podcast finds you well. I'm going to talk a little bit about, some of the experiences that I've had the last couple of days recovering from hurricane Milton. In a previous podcast, if you're following them, the eye of the hurricane, went right through Siesta Key, Florida near Sarasota and directly on a path, right over our house. And so we experienced living through an eye of a hurricane.

By the time it hit us, it was either a category 2 or 3. Just just, a very eerie, interesting experience for sure. But what I wanna talk about is what happens afterwards and how delicate life is and how disruptive things can become. One little thing, affects another thing and another thing. I mean, we went to the store 2 days ago, and I could give you a picture of of all the milk is gone.

All the meat is gone and to get gas If you can even find a gas station that has gas you have to the lines are incredible. And so we all just have to deal with that. The police are at the gas stations directing traffic traffic so that things don't get too chaotic. And so everyone needs to maintain their cool, but, you know, have to deal with it with a positive attitude. And then people the interesting thing is that people tend to come together.

Yeah. Some people get irritated and and, and it's understandable. So everyone has a tendency to but but most people, honestly, are just super, super kind, understanding. How are you doing? How did you guys fare through the hurricane?

Do you need any help? And so the past few days, we've been, miraculously my house? I don't know how it happened, but we got through unscathed. Like, nothing happened. Well, I mean, no, I mean, there was really nothing nothing no damage to my house and yet There's so much damage right around us trees down and some people have lost everything a little closer to the, you know, the the coast, but those who were living in trailers close by, they're they're just gone.

Yeah. The the winds, mother nature in her fury, it's just you can't really describe the power of it until you're there. And the other thing is that when a crisis hits, if you're not already prepared, it's too late. The grocery stores become empty within a day. Gas is gone.

And and so it's just be wise. Do what you can to prepare and have some things on hand. But more particularly as we're talking about mental health, just have the attitude. Choose an attitude of positivity. It's not so much what happens to us in life, but how we respond to it.

If you kinda have that attitude, it can it can help pull you through. It doesn't do any good to be negative and pessimistic and whining. It's like It's it's I remember a story I heard years ago. It's about a little spider that Spent all night Weaving its web had this beautiful web and in the morning a dog ran through it just destroyed it And what did the spider do went right back to creating another web? Didn't sit and moan and complain and whine about it.

It just went right back to work. That's the only thing that we can do. It was interesting yesterday as we were a group of us and we're helping at a home where just massive trees fell. And so we had we had around 20 people we were able to gather up through our church community. And, we were helping with logs, and I was talking to one of one of my friends.

And I go, you know, I'm not so sure that God doesn't allow this to happen, that it brings people together. And it's even the same in in my neighborhood. The day after the hurricane, as soon as it became light, everybody was out of their houses coming together, speaking together. There were a couple of neighbors. We've lived in our neighborhood for 5 years.

I had more of a conversation with them after the hurricane than I have in 5 years. And they're wonderful, kind people. Why does it take a catastrophe to draw people together? It's interesting. I'm reminded of a of a statement I heard years ago.

CS Lewis said this, and I'm paraphrasing because I'm just doing this podcast on the fly. Said and it said something like this. I don't think God particularly wants us to be happy. He wants us to learn to love and be loved. And the way he does that is to take us out of our comfort zone of all these things we think that make us happy, all the all the riches that, you know, money and and and things, cars, and etcetera.

He he pulls us out of that and creates suffering, so that it will bring people together. And I and I've seen that firsthand. It takes people out of their the this crisis here. It takes people out of their comfort zone, and we're all just, coming together, talking more than we've ever talked, helping each other more than we've ever helped. Because everyone needs help.

It's like some of the the damage that is done, and especially with people who are single, single mothers, older individuals, there's there's no way. There's no way that they can fix their property, remove the tree limbs. The the real challenge is the trees that fall. Man, and and these oaks here are so heavy. And so you cut them up into logs, but I mean by the time they're cut up and then you gotta pick them up and move them to the street and Some of them we try to get them in in chunks that are no more than a £100, but I mean Picture picking up something a £100 or even more and then and then walking with it to the street a good a good ways and then just doing that over and over again all day and dragging tree limbs and stuff like that.

But you do. You just grab 15, 20 people together. What we did yesterday was absolutely incredible. There's guys that were when they saw what was happening there, and he told them it was an 82 year old's house that we were at. And that's a different generation.

They see things that need to be done, and it's like, no. No. I need to get this done. And and one of the sons said, dad, there's no way we're gonna be able to clean your yard up in the next couple of days. There's no way.

In 2 days, it was completely clean, as much as could be. Then there's massive trees that, you know, we did all we could. And, then it's gonna take a professional company to come and get, some of the other stuff. But everyone no one's complaining. 1 guy dislocated his finger, thought he broke it, goes to the hospital, and they or or instant care.

They set his finger. Boom. He just comes back. He's cheerful and happy. Yeah.

Well, I I I'm not wouldn't say happy, but, I mean, his finger's killing him. But he says, well, now I just use one hand. And so he just you know, he's doing what he can using using one hand because they you know, he can't use his other hand because it's just too painful. So, anyway, it's fascinating to see, people how they come together. But it's also interesting to note how disruptive things can become.

There's such a fine balance the way everything works. For example, you know, it's like, what time is it now? It's like 4:30 in the morning. I'm sitting in front of the gym. The gym hasn't been opened since, for almost a week.

And now there's already a group of, you know, 10 people standing outside waiting for the person to come and and, unlock the door. But if you're in a routine of exercising, and that's a critical part of your day, and you do certain things, and, you know, that if you get in a sauna and stuff like that, and all that's taken from you, that's hard. It's like you gotta figure out other things to do to get to keeping your routine and and and not get out of, the habit. And so, you you know, of of striving to be healthy. But it it again, it's just the main point I wanna make of this podcast is it's it goes back to a statement by Marcus Aurelius, one of the last great Roman emperors, and he says this, impediment to action advances action.

What stands in the way becomes the way. So in other words, it's not so much what happens to us in our life, in our little worlds of experience as what we choose to do with it. Choose to be positive. Choose to have a can do attitude. I'm gonna figure it out.

We're gonna get through this. You just you just do what's right in front of you and there's always issues. Things break down. You know? It it it's just there's one problem after another.

That's life. Cars break down. We just went through that. 1 of our cars broke down, and it's cost a few $1,000 to get it fixed. It's like, what?

Yep. It's what it is. Transmission, you know, is gone. And so, you know, what do we what do you do? Do you buy any but the car is paid off.

So, see, there's just one problem after another. But I choose to look at it more. No. It's just a challenge. What is in front of us right now?

Whatever is facing you right now, that's what you gotta deal with it. But strive, make a decision to be positive about it. Can do. Healthy sense of humor. Force yourself to laugh.

Force yourself to bust up. Don't take everything so so dang seriously that you get so wrapped up in things. 0 victim mentality. I refuse to be a victim of anything and I choose to imprint positivity. I will get through this.

I'll find a way. I will find a way, whatever it might be. And I'm not minimizing at all some of the horrific things that some people have been through. Some people have lost their lives, you know, and family members in these recent tragedies. So we we love them, we mourn with them, but then you pick up and honor them.

And the only way to honor them is to continue to live the very best that you can, to come together as a community and people, and and just make the best of the situation. Those people who have lost their homes, plenty of of those around where I live, they have to figure out where they're gonna go from here. And everyone will have to just figure out the best they can for themselves what is the next step. And they can do it. Whatever it might be, there will be a way.

There will be a way provided no matter what you're facing, because I have seen some of the most miraculous things happen with a positive mental attitude, and you just pick yourself up and keep going. Don't let depression and discouragement overwhelm you. We have a decision and choice to make moment by moment, what thoughts we're gonna give attention to. Gotta keep keep coming back to, I will get through this. I will find a way.

This too shall pass. And it's like, for those of us, for example, living here in South Florida, it's just a part of life. If you want to enjoy the benefits of living in this extremely beautiful area so we were sitting out yesterday in our deck yesterday here. It's in our pool area called the lanai, means it's screened in. And my son-in-law was, we were there talking.

He says and it was just a beautiful afternoon. There wasn't wasn't a cloud in the sky. It's about 80 degrees. We're just sitting there looking out into the forest. Says, man, this is just so beautiful.

This is the price we pay for living here. It's it's it just is. And so in every every place that you live in so if you live in in Montana or North Dakota, you gotta deal with those winters. Right? When it's minus 30, 40 degrees.

I don't think that's fun, but they just they just harden up and figure out a way to get through it. They figure out a way to keep their cars going. You see, everyone every one of us have to learn to deal positively with with that, which is in front of So, anyway, again, choosing can do attitude. The best is yet to come, healthy sense of humor, 0 victim mentality, what stands in the way becomes the way, whatever, just just whatever you're confronted with. To me, a spiritual practice is, alright.

There's a lesson here for me to learn. What is it that I am to do with this? And then you just keep keep moving forward with a positive mental attitude.