Reflections From Houston

Stacy Stringer, one of our friends of the Order sent me some reflections from her and Steve's experience of the Hurrican Ike, as well as the other storms brewing over the human horizons. These words were thoughtful and provocative. I wanted to share them with you:

Beginning with Palin, continuing through Ike, and then last Monday with the collapse of the financial giant(s) I clearly sensed the abrupt shift, both internally and externally - not unlike what I experienced before and during the Enron collapse. The abruptness is quite different from the growing awareness and concern over the direction of things that has been with me for some time. Is abruptness the tipping point reached?

I've been trying to understand what to make of Ike, what he's telling us, and how he relates to the other external (as well as inner) calamities. Continuous rescue and cleanup activity makes for minimal reflective time for me, but it seems that my dreams are where the conversation is happening. My nighttime dreams are becoming like friends who visit during the day, rather than the jarring intruders they had always been.

I think I am witnessing "awe" in the biblical sense when I hear a few folks comment on the power of the storm, the heartbreaking devastation "out there," the astonishingly quick recovery efforts in Houston, and the reality that so many of us have been spared serious catastrophe. This awe is directed at Ike as well as at the tireless workers who are repairing Houston's infrastructure. Others are sensing that this is about something bigger than a hurricane and inconvenience.

I feel urgency about connecting with our community in order to process. Busyness is isolating (and deadening).