Is This 83 Year Old Woman More Empowered Than You?
Imagine that you are 83 years old and sitting at home alone. All of a sudden your world begins to shake and you are nearly thrown to the ground. Gripped by fear, you do your best to find a doorway or duck under a table. As the earthquake ends about 60 seconds later you check yourself over and are encouraged to find that you still have all of your parts and nothing is injured. Your belongings on the other hand didn't fair so well. There is glass everywhere... so much damage in so little time. Earthquakes are so overwhelmingly powerful and intimidating. It makes you feel small and helpless. As you begin to feel discouraged by the large mess and wonder how you will ever get it cleaned up, you hear a siren somewhere in the back of your mind. Then it hits you. This isn't over yet. That isn't the siren of a police car or a fire truck; it is THE siren. The Tsunami Siren! At 83 years old it would be understandable to just slump into a chair and wait for the inevitable. After all, you don't even own a car. You could walk towards higher ground but there just isn't time. You have lived a long and fulfilling life but every one dies at some point. Might as well just sit and wait. Tsuna Kimura was 83 when the tsunami hit Japan following their 8.9 earthquake. She did anything BUT give up. I wonder how many 83 year olds would have done what she did? She jumped on her bicycle and peddled her way to safety! No kidding. How many 83 year old women do you know that even own a bicycle let alone ride it! She has amazing resilience. She was resourceful and adaptive. Despite overwhelming circumstances, she was empowered! This is worth pondering a bit so we can learn from her courageous example:
What would you do if it was you? How do you handle it when you face challenges that seem insurmountable and resources are scarce? If you are still young, what are the take home lessons for you in relation to your job? your home? your friends? If you are pushing 80, how does this story impact your perspective? I would love to hear your insights!