The worst floods in Australia’s history, have been nothing short of devastating. Parts of South East Queensland looks like a war zone with rubbish strewn everywhere and the stench of the flood overpowering.
Two things stood out for me as this tragedy unfolded.
First, your life is not your possessions. I was helping my sister-in-law clean out her second-level storage unit that was flooded. The entire storage facility in Rocklea was wiped out and hundreds of people were slowly cleaning out their possessions and an enormous pile of rubbish was building on the sidewalk. I overheard one person say to another in front of the discarded stuff: “look at all those peoples lives, just thrown away”. But those were not people’s lives – it was just their possessions, some prized, some not. People were alive. That’s the most important thing.
Second, you can’t underestimate the importance of community in your life. The spirit of help was everywhere. Strangers were appearing to help people they didn’t know. In fact, so many people wanted to help that donation centres were soon full and volunteers had to be turned away. We do not live our lives in isolation and the people around us, in part, make us who we are.
Descartes pronounced “I think, therefore, I am”. But perhaps the Hindu principle of sattvic is more accurate: “You are, therefore, I am”.
In a similar vein, your working life – your career – will be most successful if you engage and support those people around you. Make 2011 the year of your career community.
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