On my way to Buka Buka Island, I had to stay overnight in Palu, the city which got hit by a devastating earthquake and a tsunami in September 2018.
And before my flight this morning, my friend Stella, who is from Palu, and was there when it happened, took us, Ladiina and I, in her car, to show us around, and let us witness the heart breaking damages caused by this natural disaster.
It was emotionally heavy to go around those deserted villages, and hearing the story from the mouth of someone who lost a lot of people she knew when it happened.
I can show you how it looked like through those pictures, but I can’t ever make you feel what it felt to be there, and seeing the people, already moving on with their life, rebuilding on top of the ruins.
Because regardless how it saddened me, this experience showed be a very important lesson about the people there.
Dozens of thousands of them lost everything they had: home, family, friends, job, business..
However, 10 months after, you can see them moving forward with their life, starting all over again from scratch, and hoping that their lost ones went to Paradise.
It was a great example for me to keep in mind.
No matter how hard life hits you, if you’re still alive, all you can do is to get back up, keep going, and come back stronger.
This is what they do.
It will take time, dedication, and a ton of work.
But I know it, they will get there.
It also made me realized, once again, how small we really are in front of nature.
Our time down here is limited, and nature has its very own ways to send us the reminder.
I hope we can all learn something from this, and apply it in the way we live our life.
Keep being strong, people of Palu,
I am with you.