{"id":6081,"date":"2021-02-06T06:39:19","date_gmt":"2021-02-06T16:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=6081"},"modified":"2021-02-06T07:00:12","modified_gmt":"2021-02-06T17:00:12","slug":"surviving-disasters-with-caring-preparedness-and-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2021\/02\/06\/surviving-disasters-with-caring-preparedness-and-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Surviving Disasters With Caring, Preparedness and Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Dr. Freddie Rabelas Obligacion<\/em>

Disaster tested and weary, Filipinos humbly accept that natural calamities are part and parcel of their way of life. Unrelenting typhoons, devastating earthquakes, destructive floods and cataclysmic volcanic eruptions occur beyond the pale of our control. As Neil deGrasse Tyson observes:

\u201cEven with all our technology and the inventions that make modern life so much easier that it once was, it takes just one big natural disaster to wipe all that away and remind us that, here on Earth, we\u2019re still at the mercy of nature.\u201d

As an aftermath of disasters, loss of life and property stabs at our very core. The anguish of loss does not escape Mark Twain who writes:

\u201cA man\u2019s house burns down. The smoking wreckage represents only a ruined home that was dear through years of use and pleasant associations. By and by, as the days and weeks go on, first he misses this, then that, then the other thing. And when he casts about for it, he fins that it was in that house. Always it is an essential–there was but one of its kind. It cannot be replaced. It was in that house. It is irrevocably lost. It will be years before the tale of lost essentials is complete, and not till then can he truly know the magnitude of his disaster.\u201d

United in grief and despondency, disaster survivors are stripped down to their naked selves, devoid of the trappings and pretensions of social status. As George Eliot muses:

\u201cWhat quarrel, what harshness, what unbelief in each other can subsist in the presence of a great calamity, when all the artificial vesture of our life is gone, and we are all one with each other in primitive mortal needs?\u201d

In the midst of ruin and devastation, survivors are called upon to reach out to others. Clarissa Pinkola Estes states: \u201cWe all wish to be brave and strong in the face of disaster. We all wish to be looked up to for our endurance and efforts to help others.\u201d

In fact, \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t take a natural disaster to remind us of the importance of service. It\u2019s something that we need to incorporate in our daily lives, as a part of our priorities of how we should live our lives,\u201d says Evan Bayh.

However, how do we serve those in distress? Sheri Fink suggests:

\u201cIf you ever face a significant disaster, do your best to keep up the spirits of those around you, act flexibly and creatively to help, try to sort rumors from the truth, and remember that the decisions you make will have repercussions after the disaster has passed.\u201d

Rightly so because as Natalia Ginzburg posits: \u201cToday as never before, the fates of men are so intimately linked to one another that a disaster for one is a disaster for everybody.\u201d

Ironically, calamities can bring out the best in us. Posits Daisaku Ikeda:

\u201cThere are no greater treasures than the highest human qualities such as compassion, courage and hope. Not even tragic accident or disaster can destroy such treasures of the heart.\u201d

However, E.A. Bucchianeri in Brushstrokes of a Gadfly interjects: \u201cIt\u2019s a shame there has to be a tragedy before the best in people will finally shine.\u201d

When the dust settles, life moves inexorably on. Confronted with the ever-present likelihood of disasters, we must equip ourselves with knowledge and preparation. Petra Nemcova correctly notes:

\u201cWe cannot stop natural disasters but we can arm ourselves with knowledge: so many lives wouldn\u2019t have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness.\u201d

On the positive impact of knowledge, Avery Brooks explains:

\u201cKnowledge is going to make you stronger. Knowledge is going to let you control your life. Knowledge is going to give you the wisdom to teach their children. Knowledge is the thing that makes you smile in the face of disaster.\u201d

Expounds Ray Mears: \u201cKnowledge is the key to survival, the real beauty of that is that it doesn\u2019t weigh anything.\u201d

Concurs Mors Kochanski: \u201cThe more you know, the less you have to carry. The less you know, the more you have to carry.\u201d

Aside from knowledge, preparedness is essential to disaster survival. \u201cBetter to have, and not need, than to need, and not have,\u201d admonishes Franz Kafka.

Along the same vein, Stephen King in Different Seasons proposes: \u201cThere\u2019s no harm in hoping for the best as long as you\u2019re prepared for the worst.\u201d

By preparing, we minimize damages. Says Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: \u201cPreparation through education is less costly than learning through tragedy.\u201d

Preparedness helps in avoiding despair. As Don Williams, Jr. avers: \u201cDespair is most often the offspring of ill-preparedness.\u201d

Being prepared likewise tempers the bane of unpredictability. Robert A. Heinlein recommends: \u201cCircumstances can force your hand. So think ahead!\u201d

Consistent with Heinlein\u2019s message, Theodore Roosevelt advises: \u201cMake preparations in advance–you never have trouble if you are prepared for it.\u201d

Proverbs 27:12 echoes Roosevelt\u2019s advice, thus: \u201cA prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.\u201d

Benjamin Franklin, for his part, pursues the same theme and cautions: \u201cBy failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.\u201d

We must remember, though, that preparedness is not a one-shot deal. Instead, Spencer W. Kimball prescribes: \u201cPreparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program.\u201d

Lastly, to survive, we must remain hopeful, for as Hal Lindsey argues:

\u201cMan can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

DR. FREDDIE RABELAS OBLIGACION<\/strong>, a sociology professor, is an alumnus of The Ohio State University-Columbus (Ph.D., MA Sociology; Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Delta) and the University of the Philippines-Diliman (MBA Honors, BS Psychology, magna cum laude). In his spare time, he writes and plays the violin and piano. He is currently researching the grassroots impact of entrepreneurship in rural Philippines. His contact is <\/em>frajah2@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Dr. Freddie Rabelas Obligacion Disaster tested and weary, Filipinos humbly accept that natural calamities…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,30],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=800%2C504",800,504,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=300%2C189",300,189,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=640%2C403",640,403,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=640%2C403",640,403,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=800%2C504",800,504,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=800%2C504",800,504,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=800%2C504",800,504,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=800%2C504",800,504,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=600%2C504",600,504,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=600%2C504",600,504,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=800%2C504",800,504,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=800%2C500",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=800%2C504",800,504,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=540%2C285",540,285,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?resize=375%2C250",375,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Featured<\/a> Opinion<\/a>","tag_info":"Opinion","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Disaster-Ondoy-color.jpg?fit=800%2C504","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6081"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6083,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081\/revisions\/6083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}