I grew up in Houston, so almost my entire family is still
there. Most of them were lucky enough to
avoid serious damage, but not all. Some
lost almost everything. The last couple
of days has been people assessing the aftermath and figuring out how they’re
going to start over. What can they save,
what can they replace, and what is gone forever.
My wife and I are in the Dallas area, so we had no direct
affects from the storm. Life went on as
usual here. In fact, my week was so busy
and my customers so demanding, that I’m ashamed to say that I hardly thought
about what was going on five hours south of us.
Until one day, when I had endured one of my customer’s abuse for hours,
and I was finally leaving work after a twelve-hour day. I heard something on the radio about the
storm, and it suddenly hit me how heartless my customer was being, and how they
were making me into the same thing.
In the midst of this devastating natural disaster, they
acted like their stupid demands and wants were the most important thing in the
world. They had the gall to escalate on
me for not turning their petty issues around in an hour, when people were
watching their lives wash away in minutes.
And knowing that I was located in Texas, they didn’t even once ask if we
were okay or if my family was okay. They
didn’t once think about anything outside themselves and their stupid deadlines.
And it was that wake-up call that made me realize that I had
lost focus and perspective on the things that matter most in this life. Work is not life. We should not live to work. We should work to live. I applaud all of those that stepped up to
help their neighbors, the rescue workers that put themselves in harm’s way, and
the celebrities that used their influence to raise money to aid those that lost
everything. I applaud them for being
better people than I am. They knew what
was important even when I lost sight of it.
People. Life.
