What To Do When Tragedies Occur

With pain and suffering in the world, it can sometimes be difficult to believe that our world is still a beautiful place with beautiful people.

When tragedy strikes – look for the helpers to lean on.

There has and continues to be catastrophic events in life. Whether they are brought about by the powerful elements of nature, death, or inflicted by others, the impact directly or indirectly is felt by many.

Fred Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

What a wise and very true thing to say. ”Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” They are there to lean on.

Helpers can be anyone and are everywhere.

They are you and me. They are the doctors, nurses, teachers, firefighters, troops, police, neighbours, family, friends, caregivers, counsellors, pets, strangers, and many others. They come to the rescue by lending their helping hands and caring hearts to whomever, wherever, and however they can.

I don’t know about you, but certainly in my experiences there have always been people who are there to offer their support in various ways.

If you watch the news, whenever there is a tragic event you will see people immediately rushing in and rallying around to assist however they can.

It’s comforting to know that in this world of uncertainty, you can be certain there will always be people who care and you can lean on to get you through the tough times until you are back on your feet again.

Think about the times in your life where you have supported someone. Maybe you gave someone a hug, or said something encouraging, or brought or bought something for them, or donated your time, or assisted financially, or started a fund raiser/event to bring about awareness, etc.

You were, and are, a helper.

What about when you were going through something unfortunate, or having a difficult time, was there one or more people there for you? How did they comfort or support you?

They were, and are, helpers.

There will be people in this world who harm others, but there are many more people that help others. Look to the helpers.

When something tragic occurs, the opposite also transpires because of the love and kindness in people.

It’s an uplifting experience to feel the support of others when you need lifting up or someone to lean on.

Sometimes certain situations leave you at a loss for knowing what you can do to help. Have you ever felt that way before?

When you don’t know what to do, remember that just being there, or a gentle touch, or saying a prayer, kind word, writing a letter, or a smile, can go a long way.

You can also ask someone, or the person in need, or God, (whatever you believe this to be) how you can be of the best assistance in this situation.

Remember the ways people care for you; you can try some of these when you are there for others.

It’s not about helping the “right” way, it’s that you are helping in “your” way.

Now and then, the person you may be supporting might not be in a place of receiving that which you are giving. That’s okay, allow them some space. You can let them know you are still there and caring about them by checking in periodically with a phone call, email, card, note, or kind gesture.

We experience tragedies differently. What’s important during and after is knowing others were there offering their support and love.

Remember, if you are experiencing a tragedy or tough time, look to the helpers and lean on them.

Remember, if you know of someone who has/is going through something difficult, be the helper.

Use these insights to assist you seeing the helpers in your life and being the helper in others lives.