Christchurch, New Zealand
The rock Christ’s Church was built upon took a toll on said named city 5 years ago. Within minutes a vibrant coastal city was literally shaken at its’ foundations and came tumbling down. Five years on rebuilding is occurring, it will be the same city but different. In the future it will be able to withstand the earth’s movement beneath. How it survives the earth’s movement on the surface will depend on the people who elected to remain and those who make a new home here.
Much of my life of late has been interacting with people who have had their own internal traumas and the families and friends they interact with. Like the earth and volcanos, pressure and tension build up within and when released changes the person. How a person responds to this and how they are supported makes a significant difference on the outcome. The example I use in my interactions, is a volcano that was 3000m/10,000 feet tall, only to blow it’s top off and be 2,000m/7,000 feet tall, it is still Mt. Saint Helen’s, but different. Christchurch will still be called Christchurch but it too will be different, not better, not worse just different.
Whether it be a city, mountain or person accepting the new reality, working together and mutual understanding that things have changed, and there is a new reality. As I was writing this I felt a tremor of 3.7, so as the ground shakes from within, life moves on. It further reinforces that is not a single event but a series of events that impact life and how we react makes a difference.
Follow these photos and watch with patience as a city and people rebuild themselves, from an unexpected trauma, that was no fault of their own, but a fault none the less. Some of what was remains and some is new but it is still Christchurch that is built upon the rock.
John O’ Connell not sure if this way to tag you, but I wanted to share this with you.
