Annoyance Is Not a Tragedy

Last week, I cut out a picture demonstrating the tragedy caused by the damaging storms that hit Indiana. That morning, I had awoken to the dread of dealing with the second minor flood within one week. Again I pulled up the area rugs and set them outside to dry out. I fumed over the inconvenience of the situation and felt a burden too great to handle.    

Annoyed, I sat down to read the paper.  When I first noticed it, I thought it was a picture of a ransacked play area with a couple of toy trucks strewn among a bunch of sticks. In fact, it was an aerial view depicting the storm damage between the towns of Henryville and Marysville in Indiana. Upon closer inspection I realized the “sticks” were what remained of homes and that with this architectural loss surely there must have been human loss. Beneath the photo I read, “Severe weather kills at least 27.”  I became fixated on the photo but still couldn’t fathom the destruction and loss. 

We get so caught up in our little lives that pre-emption of our favorite television
program can seem like the end of the world. Any interruption in our lives is reason to curse our existence and wonder why there is a black cloud following us around.  But these are mere annoyances that can, eventually, be remedied so that we can get on with our lives. The destruction of the storms last week in Indiana cannot be easily fixed. Families were left without not only their homes, but their loved ones and perhaps every personal treasure they cherished.

I cut out the photo and placed it above my desk where I pass by many times each day. I didn’t place it there to dwell on the loss of property or loss of life, although both those things are obvious. I placed it there to serve as a reminder that simple annoyances are not the same as tragedy. The washer overflowing, the water seeping into the basement, the dog having yet another accident on the rug are annoyances.  Severe weather ripping apart homes and communities, tearing apart families, and leaving destruction that can never be repaired in its’ path is real, true tragedy. Remembering that makes everything else just fall into place.

That may not be your opinion, but it’s my view and that’s how I see it.