So I hear that Virginia, Maryland, DC, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and possibly a few other states felt the 5.9 earthquake that hit the East Coast yesterday. Mass posts were made on social networks to enlighten the world about the event of the day affected them personally or to inquire about their loved ones since not all cell phone lines were working. News reports made brief statements about how buildings were damaged and that schools in the affected areas would be closed due to the need of having to assess any damages as a safety precaution. People huddled outside of their homes and offices to share their experiences with one another and offer their opinions of whether the earthquake is a sign of the second coming or whether its a sign that they are in need of a drink, a day off or getting laid.
Personally, I didn't feel anything. And I feel I should have.
Events like this are rare on the East Coast; I've grown up in this area almost all of my life and I have yet to experience something so "earth shattering" (and yes, I know, the phrase is corny and to some, it may be in bad taste, but whatever-I like it, I am writing it, and it stays!). It is when people experience earth shattering events that they are forced to pause, take a look around them, examine their life and if there's any time to spare, the lives of the people around them. There are some people that are more conscious enough to assess this on a regular basis (which I highly recommend) but I can assure you that this group of people are small in numbers.
It's the majority of people that I'm concerned about; those who live their life without even considering the affects of their choices too deeply until an event, such as the one that occurred yesterday, literally shakes the ground beneath them. They start to panic, display the most amount of fear and look around to be comforted by something or someone they think is, well, stable.
So, in order to fulfill the promise of this blog (and if you don't remember what that was, read the first blog posting), I have a few basic suggestions on how to use this earthquake, or any other natural or unnatural disaster, to help you begin or redesign the plans that you have laid out for yourself:
1. Live a Life Filled with Principles that Can't Be Compromised
Your actions have to have meaning, not just be an end to justify a means. Whether you follow a Western religion or an Eastern religion, you must use what you have been taught to help motivate your actions. If you do not follow any religion, you do have your morals to utilize. Make sure that you choose which principles are the most valuable to you and let them help you navigate through life and the people you encounter. You may be challenged at times to let one or all of your principles go and this is a battle that you will need to engage in-once the first one has been fought and even if you don't win, it will make all the difference later on.
2. Take Care of the Path that You Walk and the People In It
The path that you walk is not in isolation to the rest of the world. Even for those who consider themselves to be free spirits or those who think that they march to the beat of a different drum, we all live on one earth and that earth must be taken care of. I'm not saying that you should drop everything that you are going and become an environmentalist. All I am saying is that there are things that are within the realm of your control that you can do something about and these are not all having to do with physically cleaning the earth (i.e. picking up trash that doesn't belong to you and put it in the trash can its sitting right next to because you're right next to it) or (i.e. doing right by yourself so you can do right by others: like refusing to be called out of your name by anyone and refusing to act anything like the name that you know that you're not and getting rid of those who are in your life who are not uplifting in any capacity). *I will talk about this heavy topic later in future posts, so be on the lookout!*
There is no one, right way to live life but there definitely is a wrong way, a way that infringes upon the lives and livelihood of others, abuses the universal rules of honor and respect and condones racist, sexist and philosophical acts of violence. These two suggestions help you to avoid walking down the wrong path and when any event such as an earthquake catches you by surprise or throws you off guard, you have solace in knowing that you really didn't need to feel the ground shake beneath you to put your life into perspective.
