Found But Never Lost

I found that the few hard knocks in as many years turned me into a firm believer in the saying every man for himself. It was during this time that I found myself living abroad in New Zealand and gallivanting around the country without a bog of how to spend the free time I had skillfully negotiated with work.

During one of these moments of gallivanting about, I found myself on the South Island armed with a plan to travel from Queenstown to Auckland before I was required back at my desk. The trip started off just like the ones before it – a flight somewhere random to meet old friends before a few drinks led to new friends with plenty of photos of absolutely stunning scenery taken along the way. Strangely, it’s none of these things that I remember now. What I recall clear as day is the random cafe employee at our lunch stop asking if the plan was still to go to Christchurch despite the earthquake. At the time, I didn't understand why the earthquake from months ago would change my travel plans but the news and days to follow would prove that everything changed in this one moment.

As we hadn't made it into Christchurch when the tragedy occurred, the burning question was did we turn back or forge ahead into the unknown. After a lot of back and forth, the decision was made stick to the game plan. Over the next few days, the seismic activity didn't just bring destruction and heartbreak but exposed the beauty that was lying just below the surface. The beauty was the locals that banded together and displayed a dazzling example of community. They ensured that those without money would not go hungry and it didn't matter if you in Christchurch when earthquake hit or a traveller caught in the crossfire. Food was hard to come by as it was flying off the shelves but people were sharing what little they had. And the sharing didn't just stop at food but it was everything from a ride to the next town to a place to stay as people in droves were migrating to the North Island just like us.

It was as though I had been transported to a magical land of hippie love where people weren't vultures looking to benefit from someone else’s misfortune. It was infectious and before long, I found myself treating others in the manner I wanted to be. It’s now been over two years but the lessons learned are still coursing through my vines and I can safely say that the selfishness that I had displayed prior to these events has now been safely removed like a cancerous cyst.