\u201cYes. How can we help?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere is water outside my house and it is rising fast. It\u2019s already on my first step and I see water\u00a0<\/em>bubbling in the middle of the street. I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s happening but I\u2019m scared that my house may fill\u00a0<\/em>up with water in the next few hours.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSir, we are looking at your location and our emergency personnel can\u2019t make it down your block.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut I have five little children here? What am I supposed to do?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re sorry sir. We can\u2019t help you. Good luck.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Click.<\/em><\/p>\n There I was. Staring out my bedroom window with the phone at my ear as water was rushing up my\u00a0<\/em>front steps. In the other room, my wife and five children were sound asleep. I stood there overwhelmed. I\u00a0<\/em>turned to G-d and asked for help. Then I ran down the stairs.<\/em><\/p>\n Welcome to Hurricane Sandy. One of the worst hurricanes to hit the Northeast, ever. Hundreds left\u00a0injured or dead. Thousands without homes. Millions without power.<\/p>\n As I sit here in Sandy\u2019s aftermath, sirens screaming in the background and debris in front my house, I\u00a0keep thinking of one maxim: \u201cWhatever doesn\u2019t kill you makes you stronger.\u201d Judging by Sandy\u2019s\u00a0onslaught, there is some serious strength waiting for us.<\/p>\n Sandy brought her game. Now it\u2019s time to bring ours.\u00a0So I decided to make few resolutions.<\/p>\n I remember when I was sixteen years old. I was home on Saturday night with nothing to do. I was\u00a0moping around, feeling sorry for myself when my grandparents came over.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d my grandmother asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m having a bad night. My plans unraveled and I have nothing to do,\u201d I kvetched.<\/p>\n My grandmother, who at my age was in Auschwitz, commented, \u201cBoy, what I would have given to have\u00a0nothing to do when I was your age.\u201d<\/p>\n Enough said. Checkmate. Perspective gained.<\/p>\n It\u2019s amazing how when our lives are functionally normally, we focus on what we are missing. We run\u00a0through our days barely paying attention to all the things we have like health, shelter, family, electricity\u00a0and heat. We are too busy coming and going, buzzing and beeping, thinking and worrying about what\u00a0more we can get, to slow down and see what we already have.<\/p>\n Then, something threatens our \u201cnormal.\u201d A loved one gets sick. We encounter tragedy. We are in\u00a0danger. Almost instantly, we shift perspective. We stop focusing on more. We stop worrying about\u00a0what\u2019s next. We just want it to go back to \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n My Hurricane Sandy experience began Monday evening. We had been inside the house all day. The\u00a0winds were howling and the trees were shaking. The lights began to flicker, and then…black.<\/p>\n We lost power. They told us power outages were likely but you can never fully prepare to lose power. It\u00a0was dark. Real dark. For the next few hours, we slowly felt the effects. No internet, cell phones, heat,\u00a0hot water, refrigeration. We huddled together. I couldn\u2019t help but hope, pray and silently beg for power.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all I wanted. I didn\u2019t even care what it was powering; just power.<\/p>\n Power? Who appreciates power? I have never once turned on a light and said, \u201cWow, power. Amazing!\u201d<\/p>\n But at that moment, that\u2019s all I wanted.<\/p>\n Rabbi Noach Weinberg defines happiness as the ability to take pleasure in what we have, and not pain in\u00a0what we don\u2019t. Positive Psychology gurus like Tal Ben-Shahar speak about the scientific relationship\u00a0between happiness and gratitude. We all know this, but yet we never seem to integrate it into our lives.<\/p>\n We live in a time where most of the civilized world enjoys more luxuries than the wealthy elite just\u00a0decades earlier. We have so much, and yet, we just want more. We are waiting for something to make\u00a0us happy. But there is nothing that can make us happy. Happiness is a choice.<\/p>\n Of course we should strive. Growth is part of our life. But we need to make sure we live with\u00a0perspective. We have to start to take pleasure in \u201cnormal.\u201d We have to start to enjoy life the way we\u00a0have it. We shouldn\u2019t need a Category 1 Hurricane to have us cheer and hug when the lights go back on.<\/p>\n Resolution #1: Every day, notice one thing in my \u201cnormal\u201d life and be grateful for it.<\/em><\/p>\n As I stood there, staring out the window, it hit me. No one was coming. No one.<\/em><\/p>\n I always thought there will be someone to turn to in times of need. A police officer, firefighter,\u00a0<\/em>emergency personnel, family or friend were just a phone call away if the going got rough.<\/em><\/p>\n I was wrong.<\/em><\/p>\n I was alone, responsible, and in need of help.<\/em><\/p>\n Standing in my room, a thought popped into my mind. I had been taught that a person is never alone.<\/em><\/p>\n G-d is not in the sky watching down at the earth. He is infinite and all\u2010encompassing in every bit of\u00a0<\/em>reality. He is not just \u201cup there\u201d; He is \u201cin here.\u201d G-d is inside us. We all have a depth of strength,\u00a0<\/em>wisdom and perseverance that we can draw on. He is with us, always. I prayed that I could find Him, and\u00a0<\/em>now.<\/em><\/p>\n An idea came to me. Grab the family and run out the back. But before I woke them, I needed to make\u00a0<\/em>sure we had a place to go.<\/em><\/p>\n I ran down the stairs, out the back door to the backyard. I jumped a tall fence, through a patch of trees\u00a0<\/em>and then to the back of a home that faced another street. I climbed the back stairs until I saw a window.<\/em><\/p>\n I banged and banged until someone answered.<\/em><\/p>\n Thankfully, they were home and welcoming. Within minutes, I went back to my house, woke my family\u00a0<\/em>and then one by one retraced my steps until everyone was in the house and safe.<\/em><\/p>\n My actions were but a pittance of the courage, heroism and strength brought on during Sandy.<\/p>\n Throughout the storm, thousands of \u201cregular\u201d people tapped into an internal source they may have\u00a0never previously accessed. Doctors and nurses moved hospitals wards and saved lives. Police and\u00a0firefighters swam, ran and drove boats to save people from underwater homes. Neighbors, friends and\u00a0total strangers literally saved people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n Why? It\u2019s not because crisis breeds heroes. Crisis enables people to bring out the heroism they always\u00a0had within them.<\/p>\n We are created with a soul that is Divine. Like a well, the more we draw, the more we recognize its\u00a0depth. Sometimes it takes tragedy to realize how kind, caring and generous we are. Sometimes a crisis\u00a0reveals the courage, bravery and strength that we never saw before.<\/p>\n Resolution #2: Dare to be great. Every day, set one goal beyond my perceived limitations and go for it.\u00a0<\/em>Push to see how much potential I really have.<\/em><\/p>\n Famed author and speaker Dr. Stephen Covey once ran a seminar. In it, he invited people to place\u00a0different size rocks into a bucket. After multiple failed attempts to get all the rocks in, Covey\u00a0demonstrated. He started with the big rocks and after careful placement, all the rocks fit. He turned to\u00a0the audience and surmised: \u201cIf you don\u2019t put the big rocks in first, you\u2019ll never get them in at all.”<\/p>\n How many times do we feel overwhelmed but unfulfilled? Busy but out of control? Sensing that life\u00a0should feel different than it currently does? The reason is that, many times, our lives don\u2019t align with our\u00a0priorities. We are out of balance and we feel it.<\/p>\n There is nothing like a crisis to realign our actions to our priorities.<\/p>\n After I secured the safety of my family, I headed back home to get some basic items. On the way in,\u00a0<\/em>I surveyed the damage. My car was under water, my home was filling up. I realized that this storm may\u00a0<\/em>wipe out my possessions.<\/em><\/p>\n I tried to be upset but I couldn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t care. Not even a bit. I knew I would care tomorrow, but for\u00a0<\/em>tonight, there were more important things. I rushed to collect diapers, water, socks and pajamas and\u00a0<\/em>headed back to my family. Stuff is what it is: stuff. For tonight, it didn\u2019t make the top of my list.<\/em><\/p>\n How many times do our loved ones get rescheduled for our work? How many conversations did we miss\u00a0even though we were physically there? How many family members get less attention than our hobbies?<\/p>\n And we wonder why we feel unfulfilled.<\/p>\n There is a family in my neighborhood that awoke to water gushing into their home. They climbed to\u00a0their attic until they were rescued hours later. The next day, I saw the father walking with his kids. He\u00a0had a gym bag of his possessions. His house was under water. I asked him how he was. He responded,\u00a0\u201cThank G-d, everything is great!\u201d Seeing my facial response, he continued \u201cI\u2019m not sure if I have a\u00a0house, but I have my wife and kids. That\u2019s all I need.\u201d<\/p>\n Lesson #3: \u201cEach day, hug each kid, tight. Pick a family member to call to say, <\/em>I love you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The world was built on kindness (<\/em>Psalms 89:3).<\/p>\n As we sat in my neighbor\u2019s house, I couldn\u2019t help but smile. We were practically strangers. Yet, their\u00a0<\/em>outpouring of support was amazing. They made us feel as welcome as can be. They brought food, water\u00a0<\/em>and blankets. We made quite a mess and a ruckus, and they were not bothered in the slightest.<\/em><\/p>\n That source inside us is called a soul. It is a piece of the Divine. Why does it feel better to give than take?<\/p>\n Because giving is a divine quality and the more we act divinely, the better it feels.<\/p>\n There is something about crisis that brings out the best in many of us. Deep down, we know we are one\u00a0people. During \u201cnormal\u201d times, it\u2019s easy to differences. It\u2019s easy to entrench and protect ourselves. But\u00a0when our normal is threatened, we realize that we need each other. Our differences are eclipsed by are\u00a0similarities. We are free to be our true selves. We are free to give.<\/p>\n The day after the storm, I walked up the street. People were outside their homes offering help to each\u00a0other. We were sharing sub pumps and wet\u2010vacs. One woman, whose house was spared, drove by and\u00a0brought us groceries. Someone else dropped off a pie of pizza. At night, a friend stopped by with\u00a0heaters. Families moved in with others. Our phones were buzzing with well-wishers.<\/p>\n Resolution #4: The next time I have an opportunity to give, I will.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tuesday, October 30, 2012. 9:00AM EST<\/span><\/p>\n I walked outside my home to survey the damage. The streets were still filled with water. Coast guard\u00a0<\/em>boats were evacuating people from their homes. Sirens were blaring down the streets.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens now, Daddy?\u201d asked my son.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c<\/em><\/strong>There is only one place to go from here,\u201d I answered.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhere?\u201d he asked.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cForward,\u201d I responded.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Support<\/a> the OU Emergency Fund to Aid Institutions and Community Members.\u00a0The Orthodox Union will be working to help our communities recover and rebuild.\u00a0100% of funds go directly to those in need.<\/strong>\u00a0Donate now<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Charlie Harary, Esq.<\/strong>\u00a0is a prolific speaker who has traveled all over the country and abroad .\u00a0<\/em>He is the CEO of H3 Capital LLC,\u00a0the founder and president of Milvado Inc., and\u00a0a member of the Executive Board of the OU as well as the Founding Chairman of its Young Leadership Cabinet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes our lives are turned upside-down. It’s then that we’re reminded how to live.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":839,"featured_media":29803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[98],"class_list":["post-29713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","tag-hurricane-sandy"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Sandy-2.jpg\" "\\"Sandy")
<\/a>#1: Happy With Normal<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
#2: Trust the Greatness Within<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
#3: Restructure Your Life to Align With Your Priorities<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
#4: Giving Is What Makes the World Go \u2018round<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n