Shriyoga Blog

One Month

Posted on November 28th, 2012

Tomorrow is November 29th.  Just one month since October 29th.

Just one month since Almighty Sandy.

T.S. Eliot wrote “I do not know much about gods;but I think that the river is a strong brown god -sullen, untamed and intractable . . .”

So many lessons learned those blackest of nights in the ghost town of Soho.  The truth difficult to swallow:  my body did break against the force of Nature, my mind did falter in its ability to “look for the good first” going on night number 9 without heat and hot water, and… I did cry.  I was embarrassed of myself.  Embarrassed of the pity creeping in, knowing damn well that despite the challenge of my personal circumstances during the post-hurricane weeks, that I still had my home.

The New York Times published the following statistics in its Times Topics today:

“Hurricane Sandy was a disaster without modern precedent for New York City that, in one night, created a new homeless population of thousands. Longtime advocates for the homeless, and families repeatedly dislocated since the storm, say it exposed and worsened the city’s acute lack of affordable housing options. Even before the storm, New York was sheltering more homeless people than any city in the United States.”

So, to all of my colleagues, students, friends and family, I apologize for my lack of greater communication during this past month.  The best I could do was to remain as silent as possible so that the reality of how truly fortunate I am could sink in.  How fantastically fortunate I was to be able to stand in my kitchen, shivering in my designer winter coat as I boiled another pot of water to warm my face and hands, while drinking a cup of exotic tea by candle light.

May we not forget that is has only been one month.

So many without homes.  It must feel like an eternity to them.

Respectfully:  Do what you can if you can.