Preparedness as a Gift

The holiday season, for many, is a time of gather­ing with family and friends. It’s a time when we share gifts, and as a prelude to the new year, it is also a time of reflec­tion. However, many through­out the world are not at peace, are not gather­ing with friends and family, are not sharing gifts. It is time we awaken to the fact that we are indeed in a new age — an age in which we need to stop think­ing just about ourselves and begin to care more about other people and indeed all living things.

Despite the many admoni­tions and recom­men­da­tions we’ve received, only a small percent­age of people, organi­za­tions, and commu­ni­ties are truly prepared to deal effec­tively with the next crisis or emergency whether man-made or natural. Perhaps a change in perspec­tive would increase our local, regional, and national prepared­ness postures.

During this holiday season and as we enter the new year of 2010, let us consider becom­ing more prepared as individ­u­als, families, organi­za­tions, and commu­ni­ties as a gift that we can offer to others. By being more prepared ourselves, we can be avail­able to help each other when the next challeng­ing event occurs — as it surely will.

Happy Holidays to all!