I hesitantly watched the following video the other night...not sure if i was ready for it & curious...I went for it. I will not lie, it evoked more emotion than I thought it would. Exactly 1 year ago today....my sister, her husband and daughter left in the morning to go to work/school and never returned to their home until days later to find they had lost all belongings to a wildfire. All the challenges and gifts that have come from the experience have been unimaginable.

Please take a moment to be grateful for what you have and make space in your heart for each and every person that was impacted by the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA on November 8, 2018. May they learn to trust their environment, feel love & support, find strength & connection as they carry on with going to work/school today.....my wish for them is to feel the sun shine on them today, breathe fresh air and experience the joy of watching the sun set tonight...

Although I think I liked the film, I feel uneasy about it...one thing I do know is that my heartache continues to teach me how important it is to engage in our communities, take care of one another & be generous in our assumptions of what the human spirit can endure, grow, & learn from.

If you choose to watch this powerful film, please don’t point fingers to find fault or assume that all who were there on Nov 8, 2018 were impacted in the same way...simply open your eyes & heart to a world outside of your own. May we act & speak from a place of kindness & compassion. What can we do in our communities to engage in a meaningful way?

If you lived this tragedy I do NOT suggest that you watch it. If you choose to, & it feels like too much too soon, please, reach out to someone you trust &/or a professional to get you the support you deserve. 🙏🏼

Life offers us lessons through our own experiences and other people’s experiences. The opportunities to learn from this catastrophe are endless. What have you learned from this piece of our recent history? How has it impacted you? Did you even know anything about it?

If you are interested in watching another video with a bit of a different twist you can find two on Netflix. One with the same name, “Fire in Paradise” and another titled “The Camp Fire Documentary” by Golden Eagle Films. Likely others out there that I haven’t seen as well.

Watching videos that attempt to capture and share a particular message can inspire action. Some actions get better results than others:) Pointing fingers and blaming, will generate defensiveness and division. What action might generate collaboration? Again, I ask that you act and speak from a place of kindness and compassion. Each person involved always has their own story and did the best they could with the resources they had access to each and every given moment. Notice if you feel the urge to point fingers. Notice if it makes your heart ache. Where do you feel it? What does it make you want to do about it? What action might get the result you’re going for?