Getting your life back after a devastating catastrophe can be unbelievably difficult. To most, in fact, it’s impossible. It is easy to forget the rebuilding after a disaster extends past the physical destruction. Why am I suddenly saying this?
Last month, I realized that families in Paradise, California, are still rebuilding their lives after the catastrophe of 2 years ago. Also, the effects of Hurricane Harvey are still felt in some parts of Houston after about three years now. But here’s the most surprising detail: New Orleans is yet to recover fully from Hurricane Katrina.
These pieces of information, especially the last, may be stunning to most of us, but let’s get it straight. Rebuilding a destroyed home is not the same as getting one’s life back. Our lives are much more than somewhere to live. Home is chiefly your family, and the connection shared, and God forbid, with that gone, restoring your life can be extremely hard.
However, the home is not all that makes our lives up, is it? It is —no doubt— a crucial component, but there are relationships, memories, experiences, special dates & the activities we love to engage in. We may lose some of these forever while others may take us years of effort to regain.
All these considerations point to one obvious (and sincere) piece of truth that we all ignore: surviving a disaster is much easier than surviving the aftermaths of a disaster. There are common cases of supply chains & services becoming fully functional within a few months of a catastrophe but have you considered what it takes to get back life, and not just a blank life: it’s a life with specificities. There were specific people, activities, animals, and connections in that life.
But, hey, let’s move on…
Getting Your Life Back After a Devastating Catastrophe Starts With The BIG Decision
The foremost decision to make after suffering ultimate destruction is your answer to the question: to rebuild or not rebuild? In other words, to stay and salvage what can be OR move on to building a new life elsewhere? For those heavily affected by the disaster, there’s usually little reason to take the first option. Usually, there’s not only loads upon loads of bad memories to return to, but there may also not be anything significant to return to, sadly.
Let’s consider some stats. In April 2000, before Katrina, NO had a population of 484 675. In July 2006, barely a year after the hurricane, the figure was pegged at 230 172. 5 years ago, the city was at 80% of what it used to be. Today, if you are brave enough to visit the city and listen to survivors’ stories, you’d realize that there are many words left unsaid by reading mere statistics.
To some, though, such a disaster is an opportunity to let go. Thinking of it, it is understandable that there are those who are very reluctant to bear the agony of rebuilding what may have been a not-so-great life and cover the cost of rebuilding (which can be very expensive, to be honest).
So, whatever the decision is, it is often justified. If you choose to rebuild your home after a catastrophe, it is fair to say you’ve shown brilliant resilience. If you choose otherwise, it does not mean that you’re weak. It’s as they say: “letting go may be the key to moving forward sometimes.”
Rebuilding Your Life
If you will agree, rebuilding your property is one part of getting your life back. Sure, your home is essential, but so are some other areas. Without every piece glued together, you honestly can’t consider that you’ve gotten your life back.
Your Job…
Arguably, your job is as important as your home. There are high chances that whatever catastrophe that damaged your home must have damaged your community even more. This leaves us with disturbing questions: “is your job even still existing?”; “is your company calling you back?”; or “are you like most who will have no job while attempting to rebuild your life?”
This plays a major role in the decision of some to relocate instead of putting back their homes. For real, it’s difficult to see the logic in spending whatever you still have on rebuilding your home if you won’t have a means of sustenance living there.
Undeniably, some people will become rich through a disaster, especially those in the building lines. Even those who weren’t in the field may take up the opportunities if they have the skills. So, you may want to consider your choices.
A post-catastrophe world can offer you the perfect landscape to establish a business. There will be a lot of demand for varying services, offering opportunities for people who have the skills (or even the thinking) to start those businesses.
But What Do You Do About Your Memories?
It is sad yet undeniable to admit the loss of a loved one to a catastrophe. But family or friends will hardly be the only loss in a disaster of huge magnitudes. Several other items that mean much to us will be missed too. The thing is, so many valuable things could be gone forever, and all you’ll be having left are memories, some too painful to remember yet important to accept. Sometimes, we may not lose anyone, but the things we hold dear may be gone.
So, what do we do? Is there a way to ensure that these memories remain afterward?
A helpful technique is to store essential memories where they can’t be destroyed. These days, the availability of cloud storage will surely be of much help. Photographs are a great way of keeping loved ones & memories alive. There’s no problem if your photos are in hard copy. They can be scanned and stored online too. Songs and videos can be kept safe in the cloud, as well.
Now, I understand that these photos are nowhere near still having our people and heirlooms; I daresay that you’ll find them very valuable if they are all we have left. Having a way to remember is at least worth it.
Final Thoughts on Getting Your Life Back After a Devastating Catastrophe
As anyone will agree now, getting your life back after a devastating catastrophe can indeed be torture that’s best imagined and not experienced. Think of the trauma associated with everything that could be lost forever. There’s simply no way to escape the pain, and we can only pray for healing with time.