what do you do when the dust settles after the worst disaster strikes you?

I reckon that we are kinda like houses. houses of our souls. When a disaster strikes, all could be lost, damaged or simply wrecked beyond recognition. With its protective cover in shambles, the soul faces extreme distress and slips into the lowest of low. It is then a test of resilience, strength, love (for yourself) and hope (for life and the better part of it) to garner the will to pick up the pieces, each and every brick that went into the construction of you; childhood, values, experiences. On a brighter note (just 'cos everyone is hyped up about self-improvement these days), you would also reconstruct the parts which were faulty even before the disaster, those which you brushed off with "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" previously.

It may take months or even years and there may be times when you throw in the towel in despair. But when all is put right, you find new qualities in yourself which could never have been grown; ultimate RESPECT for yourself - for knowing that nothing could ever strike you down so low that you could never arise from, APPRECIATION for people who were there to help you pick up the pieces and knowing that you would do the very same for them and FEARLESSNESS of the great unknown.

The undesirable things that you could have done instead would be either to rebuild your house in a haphazard manner which would never be able to sustain any growth of your soul or weather any storms, or rebuild your house with many new protective layers and fences around it which would limit your soul to mere glimpses of the world.

I only hope that when it happens to me, I could rebuild myself, wholly and with just a little more.

May the Japanese maintain their calm selves and find their way out of this near complete destruction in a manner only they can and may the spirit of Kaizen burn more fervently in their times of need.