the complexities
reading some other peoples' journal entries reminds me how alike we all are. of course, we're complete different in many senses, with our different make-up of genes, family background, childhood, etc. but we all have the same desperate, deep needs within us.
one of the peer mentoring things they were teaching us was maslow's hierarchy of needs. basically, everyone needs to 1)have food, water, sleep, etc. before they can move on to 2) feeling secure and safe before they can move on to 3) feeling acceptance, love from others and...so on and so forth. until finally they reach the final step of "self-acceptance". i'm not one to get all dr. phil on people, but i realize from the hurricane and other past tragedies, how the hierarchy of needs does play into everything. with katrina hitting over in the east, everyone, including those miles and miles away from the actual target, are feeling the effects. suddenly, we don't feel as safe and secure. our world is shaken up, knowing how really vulnerable and helpless we are to natural disasters and other forces at work. then consider those over in the east who have no homes, struggling to find food and shelter. i can't imagine how they must feel. i am worrying about school and getting my proper dress attire for roth's training tomorrow, and they're worrying about their next meal! it's a frightening thought.
nothing huge and traumatic has really hit me so far in my life. lots of little daily struggles and problems, but no truly devastating events to shake up my world in salem, oregon. sometimes i can't help but think, "when is it my turn? when will the day come when i'll be tested and thrown completely out of my comfort zone?" will the yellowstone caldera erupt, creating a huge super-volcano explosion, thus resulting tsunamis, and wiping out the west coast? [as you can see, luke's national geographic shows has left me informed of the natural disasters yet to hit]. it sounds a bit ridiculous, i know, but when will the time come? or will it come?
such worries are probably fruitless. i know that there will always be trials. big or small. it's like the saints in catholicism. there's joan of arc who was burned at the stake, a messenger of God to help the needy french armies. and then there's st. therese, a little nineteenth century saint, who died at the age of 24. nothing truly heroic and climatic, but her constant hope and love for people, the little things she did for others, made her a hero. heroes are defined in what they do in any situation. whether in new orleans where katrina hits, or here in oregon, where we are far away from the immediate effects of the hurricane.
one of the peer mentoring things they were teaching us was maslow's hierarchy of needs. basically, everyone needs to 1)have food, water, sleep, etc. before they can move on to 2) feeling secure and safe before they can move on to 3) feeling acceptance, love from others and...so on and so forth. until finally they reach the final step of "self-acceptance". i'm not one to get all dr. phil on people, but i realize from the hurricane and other past tragedies, how the hierarchy of needs does play into everything. with katrina hitting over in the east, everyone, including those miles and miles away from the actual target, are feeling the effects. suddenly, we don't feel as safe and secure. our world is shaken up, knowing how really vulnerable and helpless we are to natural disasters and other forces at work. then consider those over in the east who have no homes, struggling to find food and shelter. i can't imagine how they must feel. i am worrying about school and getting my proper dress attire for roth's training tomorrow, and they're worrying about their next meal! it's a frightening thought.
nothing huge and traumatic has really hit me so far in my life. lots of little daily struggles and problems, but no truly devastating events to shake up my world in salem, oregon. sometimes i can't help but think, "when is it my turn? when will the day come when i'll be tested and thrown completely out of my comfort zone?" will the yellowstone caldera erupt, creating a huge super-volcano explosion, thus resulting tsunamis, and wiping out the west coast? [as you can see, luke's national geographic shows has left me informed of the natural disasters yet to hit]. it sounds a bit ridiculous, i know, but when will the time come? or will it come?
such worries are probably fruitless. i know that there will always be trials. big or small. it's like the saints in catholicism. there's joan of arc who was burned at the stake, a messenger of God to help the needy french armies. and then there's st. therese, a little nineteenth century saint, who died at the age of 24. nothing truly heroic and climatic, but her constant hope and love for people, the little things she did for others, made her a hero. heroes are defined in what they do in any situation. whether in new orleans where katrina hits, or here in oregon, where we are far away from the immediate effects of the hurricane.