Life Lessons
6 Lessons I Learned From Aftermath Of Tsunami in 2004
We love to bury our past because we know that to move forward in life, we need to empty our bags.
But sometimes in life, those past experiences surface again not to bring us down.
It wants us to seek out the good from it. Every experiences we lived by in the past surely brings something of a value to the present.
I am also noticing that the past come not to open wounds so that I will crumble further. But it wants a closure within myself.
How?
For me to take the good lessons (bitter and the sweet) and the beauty out of it. My past is screaming to me “Now continue your life out there stronger!”
So with that, I am sharing with you 6 lessons from the aftermath of Tsunami 2004.
Let’s read together…
You need to put aside your emotions and feelings under some circumstances.
When uncle Haneefa shared his story, I was moved. I sympathized. It was the first few days there. Immediately I felt compelled to gift him a cooking stove or a radio.
However, I was told to put aside my feelings. We landed barely a week. We couldn’t let our feelings affect us when we were on a humanitarian aid work.
The humanitarian field wasn’t for the weak hearted people. You couldn’t afford to cry at every disheartening sight of anything or anyone. You got to be a void of emotions.
We did gave all our items to his family and the surrounding neighbors a night before we flew back.
The grass wouldn’t always be greener at the other side of the world.
The bread factory was right in front of my place in Sri Lanka. Every morning, my buddy officer and I walked into it.
Imagine 1-curry puff costed us only 6 cents Singapore? Yes, 6-cents. It felt like luxury as we earned our dollars while being in Sri Lanka.
But to earn rupees and lived there would be worse after we grown up in a country with higher currency value. For sure.
If you think the grass had always been greener at the other side of the world, think again along the line of financial wise.
On top of it, in Sri Lanka, we couldn’t go out alone. Not even in Yemen. Not even in Indonesia when I lived there once. In my homeland, Singapore, anyone could walk down the streets alone, safely.
People with little lives richly than people in the cities. All are back to basic.
Everyone lived with the very little. Everyone learned the skills to knead the dough and cooked with whatever spices we had.
Living in a village wasn’t the same as living in the city. People who grew up tending to farms, baking bread, and cutting down woods to make fire actually lived richly.
Life looked tedious for many of them, but that drew their families closer together. Even when I bought a tin of biscuits for one of the houses, they were filled with pure happiness.
In my homeland, a tin of biscuits could only meant “…oh thank you. You shouldn’t have gone to trouble yourself…nobody eats it…”
And sometimes, you gave it away without taking a bite as a blessing.
No matter what your rank is at the workplace, you can’t fight or win against the elements.
Mother nature is more powerful than your bosses at work. I need not explain it. We know already how it was when Covid sent us grounded at home. Although it affected my earning, it saved my life from losing hope totally.
When I saw the water mark on every houses in Sri Lanka, I was speechless how deep it was. The ocean was deeper than the seas at the beaches in Singapore. I knew a national swimmer couldn’t fight against mother nature.
That being said, calamities taught me that no matter how sarcastic your managers or bosses might be, they are powerless. It is just a matter of time, their role expires. We bring nothing into our graves.
But what is the purpose for you to be a manager or head of department?
You’re given ‘power’ to empower another person. Be a mentor. Remind one another with love. Raise a harmonious and peaceful generation instead of strife.
- Not envy.
- Not because of majority of race or gender.
It takes one chance and support from the right person and everyone else start to treat you nicer.
I was still serving 2-years bond when I left for Sri Lanka. Nobody else was as new as me. Those sent were experienced officers.
On my journey in Galle, I received a direct message from one of the officers back in my homeland. She was a person who used her length of service as power to cast fear towards new officers. She boycotted me and turned her back when I approached her while on duty.
But her message when I was in Galle…?
She told me how proud she was of me when she saw my face on the banner hung up for publicity in our homeland.
I was like… Well, thanks but no thanks to her bullshit.
It took my Superintendent’s trust and faith in me that revealed people’s character. Those who were mean, racist, or bullies became nicer.
Words went around…
“Do not offend Lissa. She has gotten very strong backbone. She’s a high flyer…”
In calamities, people tend to flock together forgetting their differences. In time of peace, people tend to forget the hard times we had been through together.
The school we built in Sri Lanka to kickstart their children’s education system was officially graced by a Catholic sister from the Order of the Discalced Carmelites.
That surprised me because we built the school in a Muslim village. While they were cautious of Tamil Tiger who were the aggressors, the Muslims and Catholics joined hands to rebuild their community again.
Years gone by after Tsunami, I had seen news of broken peace in the country again. Especially during Christmas. It took a weed to grow and affected everyone.
We easily forgot the hard days we survived to live despite our differences.
I have given you 6 lessons I seen from Tsunami in 2004.
- Sometimes in life, we need detachment. I am learning from the orders of discalced Carmelites. It is part of a Teresians’ way of life that we detach ourselves from creations. It’s not easy. When I love, I truly love.
- The grass not greener at other places? Water the grass where you are then. It is a matter of how we tend to our grasses right now where we are. Water it, take care of it. Monitor it, but do not be obsessed. Life evolves. Not all the time we are going to remain at the same place forever.
- Go back to the basics a step at a time. Living cost definitely rises. It is expensive in Singapore. What we earn a penny doesn’t justify the cost here, unlike those expatriates who lives better financially. So, try to go back to the basics. A bread with butter spread dipped into coffee is a great breakfast to me.
- The earlier at age you achieved your rank, the more struggles and hurdles you will face. The worse gets into your head and the more sarcasm you will speak. You will think that you need to be sarcastic and debate with everyone to show you’re the leader. Learn to know we are small no matter how big we earn or how high our role is.
- It is by the call of our Creator to protect the poor and the weak. When you have authority, protect the weak. Mentor them. You’ll be surprised the cruel ones turned gentle. The hopeless needs a God-sent person to break the ice.
- We lived by grace. What we have are all by grace. Grace is the undeserving merits God gives. Not our hard work even though it is the pre-requisite. Remember the people who were with you when you were nothing. Be grateful.
These are my self reminders. To remind myself too. Giving you my hugs…
xoxo
💗Lissa 💗
