“May God give you…for every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise, and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.” ~Irish Blessing

By now we are all well aware of the destruction and despair brought to the Northeast and the Caribbean by Hurricane Sandy. We’ve all seen the images, heard the stories, and felt compassion in our hearts for those affected. Whether we live on the opposite end of the country, or even the world, we all at some point have known what it feels like to be in a situation that you have no control of; that you simply do not know what will happen. With natural disasters, we can physically never really be fully prepared, and we never really know how it will affect us individually. Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, we can work each day to build and give ourselves strength to endure these very trying times. This is the purpose of The Practice. To have the tools necessary to push through tragedy. When we are centered spiritually, we can handle loss and change, and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Now that the storms have passed, it is time for the real work to be done. We must show gratitude for what we still have, compassion for those who are worse off than we are, and courage within ourselves to know that we can persevere through many difficult times, and come out of these situations stronger than before. It is so uplifting, that even in these darkest of times, we see the true nature of the human spirit. We see people helping others in times of need, and doing whatever they can to ease the suffering of others. I think these are the lessons from tragedies like this. Let us all take a step back and be gracious for what is good in our lives. Let us also ponder what we can do to aid those in need. Send prayers and mantras towards those who are suffering, or donate what you can to the relief efforts. If we all do just a little, the world will surely notice a lot.

For more information on what you can do to help, please visit the American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/hurricane-sandy

[embedit snippet=”blog-author-michelle”]