Imagine having only 15 minutes to remove your most precious objects from your home. Photographs, documents, goods with sentimental value, a material list but whose background sometimes implies a lifetime of memories and many emotions.
Recent videos and images that have gone viral have revealed the difficult task that evacuees have had to face due to the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma.
Beyond the complicated task of looking to the future and everything that will imply rebuilding the lives of thousands of people, this situation reminded me of when I left my native Cuba with the plan of staying in Canada but without being able to carry anything in my luggage that raised suspicions.
I ask you: what would you take from home if you only had 15 minutes to do it? I think it is a good exercise to focus on being grateful for how much or how little we have, but also to make a hypothetical inventory of those things that we most appreciate. You will be surprised to see it and realize that beyond material value, surely what we would save has to do with our affections and the experiences of our existence.
We can always start over and here it is important to note that we never start from scratch. We already did that once when we were born and sometimes we forget to realize how far we have come.
In any case, we start over with the wisdom we already have and with the conviction that we have the ability to rebuild whatever we want, just as we once did.
If today you are going through a difficult situation (of any kind) I want to tell you that everything pases and that this will also pass.
Human beings have a great capacity to be resilient, that is, to use everything that happens to us to make us stronger and rise in the face of difficulties.
And to you who read this and who have a roof with all the comforts, do not forget tonight to genuinely give thanks for the opportunity to live in peace with your loved ones.