Opinion: 5 lessons in kindness from outside L.A.’s evacuation zone
LA TimesThe fires have tested but also reinforced my belief that we create beauty from life’s challenges. After hearing a few of our harrowing fire stories, one kind stranger, Nadia, extended a gracious invitation: “I have a bridal shop a few blocks up the street. These rich and mindful encounters made a Bible verse, Isaiah 61:3, personal: Being present to encourage my neighbor gave me “beauty for ashes.” Nadia extended to me kindness and poured “the oil of joy” over my mourning. Liz’s genuine care outfitted my spirit of heaviness with a literal “garment of praise.” All of them them transformed loss and anxiety to feeling seen, heard, understood, supported, valued and unconditionally loved. Alisa Lenore Smith is at work on a book titled “Poetic License: The Science and Art of Living Life as a Poem through Presence.” She donates her time as a Court Appointed Special Advocates volunteer in support of foster youth.
History of this topic
LA’s 100,000 Evacuees Flee Fires for Shelters, Second Homes
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California fires: What it's like in LA at the moment
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Letters to the Editor: After the fires, ‘reconnecting with nature can offer solace, perspective and renewal’
LA Times