Title : What to do when a tragedy strikes
Abstract:
Tragedy, by definition, is an event that causes great suffering. It is often sudden, usually unpredictable, and no one is immune. Examples include earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, flooding, severe droughts, epidermic infections, and large-scale environmental poisoning. Some tragedies result from human errors or the accidental failure of technology (as in the case of industrial accidents, airplane crashes, train derailments, and rocket launch malfunction), while other tragedies may be due to willful acts by individuals during the crimes of theft and homicide.
Regardless of what kind of misfortune happens to have struck and under whatever circumstances, every misfortune or tragedy that we suffer in life impacts us ultimately through a common pathway—by intensifying one or more of our five inborn human hungers:
- Hunger for food and comfort.
- Hunger for intimacy and trusted companionship.
- Hunger for answers and information.
- Hunger for inclusion and acknowledgment.
- Hunger for continuity and certainty.
For example, when an earthquake or a tornado completely devastates the town where you live and work, when your spouse or sibling dies in a plane crash, when a terrorist bomb explodes and maims you, when you lose your home and all your belongings in a fire, or the doctor calls you to say that your biopsy is positive for cancer, the disruptive consequences of such events are not only economic but also psychological, spiritual, and social in nature — with mounting fears, personal doubts, uncertainties, tests of faith, and the need for answers and information.
During this presentation, attendees will learn exactly what to do to rebound. At the end, the audience will walk away with the knowledge of what specific five things to do while on a so-called Z-Pathway, to rebound, and flourish, despite (and sometimes even because of) the tragedy.
