We are all just animals.

Did everyone recover from hurricane Matthew's little play date on the East Coast?In all seriousness though, this big bad storm caused quite a bit of destruction for Florida and Haiti. I am extremely fortunate to be able to say that my family and friends in SC made it through, alive and unharmed. Our homes are still intact, although some without power. Despite the inconvenience of living without water, lights, or (heaven forbid) wifi, we are blessed to be reminded to not take these luxuries for granted.When disaster strikes, we panic, we create chaos, and then...we pull together.It's like an age-old tradition. It's instinctual really. The fight or flight response. We get wind of a natural disaster on the horizon and flocks of people rush to the gas stations fighting over bottled water and honking horns at the pumps. We race like animals 'every-man-for-himself mentality' swerving through traffic, cutting corners over curbs and through bike lanes evacuating. We board up our windows and sand bag our doors determined to protect our homes...our territories, our foundations. At our root, human kind is no different than dogs peeing on trees or birds pecking out the eyes of a snake near their nest. It's our instinct to protect ourselves, our loved ones, our homes. It's our instinct to either fight, or run from perceived danger.Once the storm passes though, we hesitantly check that the coast is clear. We peek out like frightened alley cats behind dumpsters. The fear dissipates, and we are assured that it's safe to return. Coming out to check the damage, we band together like a brotherhood. Working like ants to rebuild what has been tore down. We call our friends, reach out on social media, visit the neighbors to help clean up the destruction.The world keeps turning..It's in these moments that I realize I am one among all the living. And that all things in time will come to pass. There is an ebb and a flow to this world. The floods wash away, what the earthquakes shake loose. The wind blows dead limbs free so that new sprouts have room to grow. And we are stripped down to the bare essentials. We are no more in control of saving our homes or our loved ones than we can control the winds and the rain whipping through our streets. To cling to the perishable...to cling to anything on this earth is to deny the inevitable life-death-transformation-cycle. Above and below photos provided by CNN