Imagine standing at a crossroads, where one path leads to your safety and the other to a stranger’s peril. Would you silently hope for your path to be the safer one? This moral dilemma isn’t just hypothetical—it’s a reflection of the wishes we make every day. I found myself deeply thinking about this while texting Steve Badger yesterday morning while discussing the historic hurricane, which will certainly destroy portions of the central west Florida coastline, which has not had a direct hit since 1921.
I felt guilty and selfish to suggest that I wished that Milton would go south and reduce its impact on Tampa Bay where I live. I love those areas just south of me and have many friends who live in those lovely communities. As a result, I spent considerable time yesterday researching these troubling issues. I was literally in my robe at 5 pm, not moving from my computer, working on other matters, but returning to this troubling personal dilemma.
What I found from others is that it is natural and understandable to hope that a disaster doesn’t directly impact you or your loved ones. This doesn’t necessarily stem from selfishness but from a basic human instinct for self-preservation. Much of what I read suggests that rather than feeling guilty about these personal and emotional thoughts, we should try to:
- Acknowledge that it’s normal to feel relief if danger passes you by while still having empathy for those who are impacted.
- Recognize that wishing for your own safety doesn’t mean you’re wishing harm on others. It’s not a zero-sum situation.
For those of us in the potential path of destruction, we should cultivate compassion for all potential victims, including ourselves. We should wish for the best possible outcome that minimizes harm to everyone. We should consider how to help if the disaster does strike elsewhere. Planning to donate, volunteer, or offer support gives us a sense of purpose for everyone. We should use our concerns and feelings as motivation to be better prepared for future disasters, both for our own households and our wider community.
We should become involved in local disaster preparedness efforts to help our whole community to become more resilient. We should support organizations that provide disaster relief and recovery services. As a result, I called and felt like I woke up Amy Bach with United Policyholders early in the morning, urging her to have her staff here to help in Florida to advocate for policies and practices that mitigate disaster risks and improve response capabilities, which aid policyholders. I discussed my personal dilemma with Amy, and she was compassionate with me.
One thing that I can suggest to those who may feel similar to me is that by reframing our thoughts and taking positive actions to help everyone in the wake of a disaster, we can move beyond the apparent conflict between self-preservation and concern for others. Remember, it’s possible to hope for your own safety while still caring deeply about the well-being of others and being ready to help those in need. However, we need to show it in our actions, which overcome feelings of guilt and a sense of selfishness.
Thought For A Day Which Will End With a Major Hurricane
On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it. Raise your sail and begin.
—Gregory S. Williams
