Some "after" perspective ...

I thought before I write more here about my four days in Haiti, it might be appropriate to explain something: I am by nature an optimist. Life experiences have led to a belief that for me at least - optimism is a healthier attitude to adopt in dealing with some of the more negative experiences I've had over the past 55 years. I've been beyond blessed in so many ways, and what rough spots there have been I've chosen to learn from and not dwell on - I've looked for the lessons, and moved on. Not always easy, but a deliberate and conscious choice.

So as you read what I write about Haiti - perhaps view my Photo Album of the trip I just completed - do not underestimate the gravity of the situation there due to my deliberate attempt to see the light in the dark.

In a way, looking for the light was my saving grace while I was there, for had I let myself dwell on the enormity of the tragedy; to look upon those crushed buildings and visualize the lives lost in them; had I focused on the immense amount of sad and depressive images that were in my line of sight at any given moment? I would be of no help here. And that is all I want to do now - help spread awareness and understanding. I would suspect anyone who has been to Haiti post-quake probably has a similar attitude toward dealing with the overwhelming sadness and destruction - one couldn't function if it was allowed to be the focus.

The Haitian people themselves played no small part in helping me see the positive - their spirit and resiliance is palpable. Of course there is immense sadness and grief, but their intrinsic dignity and strength is what overcomes that. Under the same circumstances, I question I could be so strong.

Realizing how consistent that dignity and strength; humor and kindness is in the Haitian people as I got to know them and travel through parts of their country, the more I found disconcerting many of the mis-conceptions about them offered in the media. Food distribution lines with armed UN troops - even soldiers carrying cane switches - were unsettling and disturbing to me as we drove past lines of Haitians waiting quietly and patiently in the sun - often hands on the waist of the people in front of them - reminding me more of bread-line photos I've seen of the U.S. Depression era. They in no way appeared to me an angry mob, in need of control.

They were devastated human beings ... wanting food for their families and themselves; trusting in the promise that they would be given some.

I think fear is insidious and debilitating long-term - both when it rises in us personally, and when it is used as a form of manipulation by others. For what it's worth, not only myself, but others I have spoken with who have come to know the Haitian people ... feel there is a disproportionate emphasis on security in Haiti in the aftermath of this quake, and perhaps not quite as much emphasis on providing for overwhelming need - as there should be.

I'm trying to be diplomatic here and not come across as preachy. Nor do I want to get overly political because that is polarizing and I don't want to go there - this needs to be about helping the Haitian people and maintaining awareness of their acute needs.

But as I continue to write about this Journey, it's important I think for you to know my foundational perceptions - they play a large part in the stories I hope to tell.

I'll end this for now - and leave you with two photos I took at one of the rice distributions we came across: