“… if we concede to indignity, we simply cannot achieve our full potential as human beings.” –– Katherine Dunham, IN SWEET COMPANY: CONVERSATIONS WITH EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN ABOUT LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFE

The following copy comes to you by way of an email I recieved, the origin of which remains floating in the ocean of cyberspace. It’s a deep and powerul perspective; one I thought to pass on to you.

1. THE CALM – Not a single visual of chest-beating, anger or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

2. THE DIGNITY – Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or crude gesture.

3. THE ABILITY – The engineering: Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.

4. THE GRACE – People bought only what they needed for the present so everyone could get what they needed.

5. THE ORDER – No looting in shops. No honking or hogging the roads. Just understanding.

6. THE SACRIFICE – Fifty workers stayed to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?

7. THE TENDERNESS- Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM was left undisturbed. The strong cared for the weak.

8. THE TRAINING – Everyone, the elderly and the children, knew exactly what to do. And they did it.

9. THE MEDIA – They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. Only calm reporting.

10. THE CONSCIENCE – When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly.

Your thoughts?