Finding Words

It’s officially been a week since Hurricane Sandy happened upon the northeast bringing unsurmountable grief, despair and tragedy to an area that has not experienced something of this magnitude in 11 years.

We spent the better part of last week in our apartment in Hoboken, so immensely grateful to be with partial generator power and inconvenienced by flooding that left our building somewhat trapped in terms of being able to actually venture outside. Yes, it was inconvenient, but with friends sans power or heat, neighbors losing their childhood homes and perfect strangers having nothing but the clothing on their backs, I found myself feeling nothing but impossibly guilty for our good fortune.

We were blessed to be able to spend the weekend celebrating the wedding of dear friends in an area of New Jersey that was mostly without power, with long and eery lines of cars waiting for gas and stories of Sandy being shared over candlelight. Even when the sun came out to shine so brightly in a fiercely blue sky as wedding guests gleefully said their cheers, I felt nothing but guilt.

It was only after a long conversation with a friend that I was able to gain some perspective. This is a time not to feel guilty for what we have, but to offer some solace for those who are suffering, to find ways to give back and to be a support system for those that need it.

I will be back to posting status quo in the days to come, but for now, I urge you – go out and do something for someone else. It doesn’t have to be for victims of Sandy, because there are many others out there continually suffering, but go give back. Even if it’s to wait those extra 3 seconds to hold the door for someone, to donate a load of clothing to a local women’s shelter or to take those funds you were going to aimlessly shop online with and give to relief efforts, take a few minutes this week to bring a bit of peace to others today.