I will never forget the lesson I learned from the Mexican people after the Colima earthquake in 1995. I had been living in Lake Chapala, Mexico, for years when the earthquake hit the coastal state of Colima. I could feel the slight aftershocks all the way here in the Ajijic.
While watching the news, I was struck most by the attitudes of the people who lost their businesses and homes. They were covered in dust and sitting on sidewalks, huddled together making fires to heat their tortillas, sharing blankets and showing concern for one another. They were obviously taking the loss of all their worldly goods in stride so a reporter asked a man who had just lost his small hotel (where he also lived), "How do you feel about the loss of all your worldly goods?"
The man smiled and looked pensively at the ground and then with a level gaze he said, "Those were just things. Those things were material. Bricks and sticks. I still have my wife, my children and my own life. None of us were harmed and for that I am most grateful. We have each other. All my neighbors lost everything they had too. Why should I feel more important than they are? I have what matters, and we'll all help each other start again."
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