humanity

Hurricane Helene

What Hurricane Helene tells us about preparing for disasters

Leave a Comment / Climate courage, Fuck it Enough, Uncommon Courage /

I have been consumed trying to understand the scale of devastation from Hurricane Helene across the five states impacted, and I know it will be sometime before we do get a sense of the scale. You can see many videos and articles on my knowledge page if you’re trying to make sense of it too. I’m updating it every day. I don’t know this area, but reports are talking about many mountainous towns cut off, and the BBC reported today that there are 11,000 missing persons requests. As with the Nepal floods, the final numbers could be staggering. However, one issue that has really risen to the top of the news cycle is how quickly everyone is struggling to survive after the storm. This is a massive lesson for all of us to heed, because looking at how things are going around the world, we too, will face a catastrophic event. What I’ve noticed so far Power – thankfully it’s not extremely hot or cold right now, or the power outages could be an even bigger issue, but two million people remain without power and repairing power sources will take a long time. The impact on survivors was fast too, because within days of the storm, all the food was gone or ruined because fridges had no power. With supermarkets also destroyed in the storm, this left people with nothing Roads and bridges collapsed – people can’t get in or out across huge parts of the areas impacted, and this is a major issue for search and rescue, food and water distribution, as well as for medical needs. The only way in or out is by air, and looking at the scale of the damage, this will make it even more challenging to get help where it’s needed. The road and bridge damage is so vast, it will take months to get the main roads working again. The back roads and bridges, even longer Medical – one of the recurring stories was how quickly we heard about people in dire medical need, not because they were harmed in the storm, but because of existing conditions. They had no access to life saving medicine or the machines they need to keep them alive Phone – we are all on mobile phones these days and all the towers went out, which has created a HUGE issue as people are still unable to speak to family and friends. Many have no idea if their loved ones survived the storm and because of the other issues – like roads destroyed – they can’t get to them or speak to them. We need to address communication channels urgently Water – the water supplies have been inundated because of the storm, so there is no access to fresh water, and it’s challenging to get water into affected parts. Survivors are collecting buckets of brown water from lakes and rivers to flush toilets and have no choice but to boil it to drink Sewage – the sewers were also inundated and that is going to be a major infrastructure repair job, which will take a very long time to fix. It’s also a risk for spreading disease Cash – because the power is out, people can’t pay for food at the supermarkets – if the supermarkets are still running. Just another example of how our reliance on digital technology, which requires power and mobile towers to operate – does not serve us when it comes to a disaster What are the big take-aways? Infrastructure readiness for the climate we have coming, not the one we had in the past. This includes roads, bridges, power, water, sewage, etc… Vote for leaders committed to this, and do not vote for anyone who is not taking this seriously Communication channels/devices that don’t rely on towers that will be destroyed in major storms. We need to focus on traditional battery run devices, because you can’t charge anything when you have no power Stock up on tinned food and bottled water – every home needs to have a stash, so neighbours can take care of those who may lose their food. This is something I did in Thailand before we left. I was ready for anything Medical supplies – if the storms are coming through so fast there’s not enough warning to leave OR the severity is not understood until after-the-fact, make sure you have medical supplies for at least a couple of weeks. Add things like glasses and contact lenses too if you need them Cash is king when the power goes out. Have enough on hand to get through at least a couple of weeks What would you add? Looking at the extreme weather events impacting every corner of the world, it’s time to start thinking through what you’d do in an emergency, as well as thinking through the risks you face, as a community and personally. Let’s all get prepared, based on the possible risks we know we could face where we live. Cheers Andrea All my contact information is here. You can buy me a coffee to support my work here. Uncommon Courage is an invitation to be your courageous best self every day. It’s also an antidote to the overwhelm, fear, and rage rolling around the world. But it’s more than a book; it’s an invitation to join an inclusive community that wants to better understand humanities challenges – both global and personal – in order to take courageous action and create a better world for everyone. You can buy it on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Booktopia, Smashwords, Kobo, Gardners, Odilo, Indie Bound, BookShop by BookTrib and Scribd. Better yet, order it from your local bookstore, so you can #SupportLocal. You can read the reviews, including a new five-star review on Book Commentary, another five-star review on ReaderViews, a review on BookTrib, and three more on Booklife, another on Book Commentary and Blue Ink Reviews. I’m also collating reviews on my Website too. Have a look and grateful

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The problem with casual criticism and how it diminishes us all

Leave a Comment / self awareness, Uncommon Courage /

I want to talk about something that’s bothering me a lot lately. This is not directed at anyone I’m having deeper, behind-the-scenes conversations with, it’s more of a general experience I want to talk about. And it’s about casual criticism. The stuff we put out there, without much thought, especially the impact it can have on others. I was at an event recently, and someone made a disparaging remark about something. It’s not important what they said, but it was an ugly little moment. Anyhoo, I was only an attendee, but I immediately felt hurt for those who had arranged this event.  What if they heard these words?  How would it make them feel?  Would it stop them from doing something again?  Would it crush them enough to diminish their spirit, passion, light?  Potentially, and that is why I care about it so much. We cannot dim another’s light! It’s inexcusable to do that. Casual criticism is lazy and destructive. It’s also always from people who are not in the arena, doing the work. It’s also usually from people who have given up. Who don’t believe we can achieve wonders anymore. It’s SO easy to criticise another, especially if those people are doing good work. It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and rip it apart, pull it to shreds, diminish it’s value. Why do people need to do it? And more importantly, what does it really say about them?  For those in the arena, please fight on regardless, no matter how much it hurts. I can definitely assure you I know the cost, and sometimes it’s unbearable. But we need you. Our children need you. The world needs you. Our future needs you.  Flip it around too. Look at it as an opportunity to help other’s become better versions of themselves by showing them how it’s done. By showing them what belief looks like. By reminding them of the incredible results you can achieve when you believe enough!  Because the only other option is to diminish ourselves. And to be honest, we all lose if we allow that to happen.  Transformative change can only happen if those doing great work, do it regardless of this casual criticism. It would be so much easier if they didn’t have to contend with it though. Across the span of my life, I know it’s rare to have the mettle or the thick skin required to cope. But the bigger risk is, people are silenced. They don’t want to attract that shit. It breaks my heart.  One of the reasons I wrote my next book, Uncommon Courage, is to talk about stuff like this. As the world has gotten angrier and meaner, those of us who are not angry and mean haven’t remained centered. We’ve been impacted by this anger and we have moved towards it, away from our core truth. Sure we might not be as extreme as those who are angriest, but we aren’t where we were before this all started to boil. Just look at your friends ripping each other apart on social media when they don’t agree with each other?  The easiest way to think about this is Ying and Yang. Light and dark. And we have always needed both, because when we have both, we have balance. Right now, we are not in balance. We have all moved towards the dark a little bit or a lot.  I think we can all understand how it’s happened. It’s hard not to be angry when there’s so much ugliness around us. It’s hard not to respond, to rile up, to bite back. But we have to work harder than those who are most negative. We have to work harder to stay in the light, even when it hurts like hell.  If enough of us do it, we create a tipping point and we can get the balance back. Because do you know who wins if we don’t do this? Those horrible, angry people who are making us more horrible and angry. Ironic isn’t it? But that’s how it works, and because it’s always so intense, we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to see the bigger picture. We need to see this bigger picture, because if we don’t, what we’re fighting for is already lost.  This last five years, which has been exacerbated by a pandemic, has had a HUGE impact in making all of us less loving, giving and beautiful. Our words are harsher, our criticism more cutting, our cynicism more unforgiving.  But we don’t want to be that person, do we? I certainly don’t and I want to encourage everyone to mind your words, especially your criticism, and especially mind it towards those who are doing their hardest to make the world a better place. You might not believe what they’re doing is possible, but don’t stop them believing it’s possible!  The only guarantee of creating a better future is for the craziest ideas to be driven by massive passion and a relentlessness that will ensure success. Let’s get behind it. Let’s support the crazy. And even if we don’t want to get behind it, just don’t criticize it.  When you have a choice, always choose kindness. Yours, without the bollocks  Andrea  Thanks for supporting Without the Bollocks for all these years. I’m about to retire this brand, and move it to a new idea I’m building, called Uncommon Courage. It’s a book, podcast, blog, social media and more – where we talk about the big issues of our time. The Facebook Group hasn’t been launched yet, but you can follow me on Twitter here, Instagram here, YouTube here, and Facebook too – although this Facebook page will soon be retired! Here’s to making the world a better place xxxxx    

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