I’m a frequent visitor of Wikipedia. I also donate to the Wikimedia Foundation Inc., which is the non-profit organization behind Wikipedia. I will explain why I mention Wikipedia after the following Disclaimer 😆:
DISCLAIMER:
Because of my financial situation (my wellness business took a big hit due to the pandemic), I have to be selective of which non-profits I donate to, but I make sure I donate a portion of my income to the causes that I strongly believe in.
(Please do not contact me to ask for donations at this time. Thank you.🙏)
Did you know that the recent winter storm from a couple of weeks ago already has a page on Wikipedia? It’s titled, “February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm.” According to this article, the winter storm — unofficially known as “Winter Storm Uri” (I call it SNOVID-21) — affected many states across the U.S., with Texas experiencing the worst of it. (I’m bringing it for a landing here now…) Being that I live in North Texas, I was part of the millions of Texans that experienced rolling power outages, no WiFi, spotty cell reception, several days of below freezing temperature, frozen pipes, and other related situations that come with living in a state that was not built to handle such freezing weather.
But in the midst of it all, I had some great realizations about myself and my community.
I woke up on Monday morning to a very cold house. My face felt frozen, so I immediately buried my face under the thick blanket that was over me. My husband walked in shortly afterward to tell me about the power outages and that our heater was acting up. The next several days consisted of us having to manually turn the heater back on every time the power came back on (which resulted in a couple of sleepless nights as my husband and I took turns staying up to reset the heater throughout the night). Because we had power for about 45 minutes on and 90 minutes off, we would take every “power-on” opportunities to boil water, cook meals (thank God for our Instant Pot!), and recharge our cell phones (mainly to use as flashlights). I also took advantage of daylight to finish reading my January book, and I even started reading my February book (My goal is to read one book every month). It was a very uncomfortable week and consistently wearing four layers of clothes, but it was also a week of slowing down and detoxing from electronics.
I was reminded that electronics can distract me — more than I realize — from completing tasks and accomplishing goals.
I also saw some amazing hearts of service come out of many people. I had neighbors clearing snow off of people’s driveways (including the driveway of an elderly couple), some risking their safety by driving through multiple cities (in the snow) to collect warm clothes for those in shelters, and hosting friends and family who lost power completely. I saw post after post from people on NextDoor, Facebook and Instagram, offering whatever resources they had to anyone that may be in need. This reminded me of what the First Century Christians did in Acts 2:44-45:
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…”
It was a week I will never forget. My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones due to the Winter Storm as well as those still recovering from the damages that the freezing temperatures left behind. But in the middle of tragedies and losses, I’m grateful and proud to be a part of a community that bands together and looks out for each other.
When things get tough, may we all step up to extend our love and service to those in need.
With Gratitude,
Jheni Solis Wellness 