I am excited to report that, after three months of volunteering, I’ve been hired by the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce! Working with this group of energetic and optimistic people, totally dedicated to the rebuilding of Hancock County, Mississippi keeps me focused on looking ahead to the infinite amount of possibilities for renewal, instead of remaining muddled in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
One of my tasks is to collect and compile information for the chamber’s monthly newsletter, and yesterday I stumbled across something that I thought would be of interest to my friends all over the U.S., fellow Mississippians, every American, and possibly the whole world. The website Mississippi Believe It! and it was born out of the frustration of dealing with so many stereotypical images about Mississippi. As I explored the website, a great sense of pride welled up inside of me, and our decision to stay and rebuild was not only confirmed but also reinforced.
I must admit, ever since the storm, I have questioned our decision to stay. After all, we are relatively new residents (less than two years) and we have no roots here in Bay St. Louis, or even the state of Mississippi for that matter. But something quite remarkable happened a couple of weeks ago. Something that changed my life completely.
The Sun-Herald ran a small announcement indicating that the Anthony Robbins Foundation was seeking 15 Hurricane Katrina survivors who were massively impacted by the storm to attend the "Date with Destiny" seminar, all expenses paid, scheduled for early December.
Attending a Tony Robbins seminar has been on my "list of 100 things I want to do before I die" for about 20 years, so of course I applied. When I received the call the very next day saying that our application was accepted, I about jumped out of my seat! We were on our way to Palm Springs, California four days later.
As it turned out, 25 residents of the Gulf Coast were selected to attend, and the experience we all shared bound us to one another in a most incredible way. Tony Robbins, who is considered by many as the father of the life coaching industry, guided us through six days of exercises that stretched our emotional muscles like they’ve never been stretched before. Much of it was hard work, but it was so worth it. All of us returned home different people. We had definitely made a change for the better. And I finally figured out that I want to stay in Mississippi because this is where my heart is.
The Robbins Foundation became aware of two people in our group that were to be married in the fall. Katrina changed all that, of course, and Ken and Lorinda used all of the money they had saved for their wedding and bought food and supplies for their friends who lost everything in the storm. At 8:00am on Wednesday, December 7, before the day’s seminar began, Ken and Lorinda were married in the most beautiful wedding ceremony I have been lucky enough to witness. What was remarkable was that it was literally thrown together in a day and half. Everything -- the wedding dress, the tux, the rings, the minister, the site -- was gratis. And as if that wasn’t enough, the lucky couple "won" a trip to Fiji! Is this storybook or what?
I feel blessed to have been included in the group that was chosen for this incredible experience. Never could I have imagined that something like this would occur from Katrina’s wrath. I have learned that the journey is the destination.
Starving artists
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glad you got to go for some R+R and do something you have wanted todo for years...but who is Tony Robbins?
andy,ms (Sent Dec 21, 2005 9:14:01 AM)
Maria; thanks for sharing this positive experience with us. You deserved the resbit AND the job!!!!!! Congrats to you!
Stephanie Umbro, Standish, ME (Sent Dec 22, 2005 9:23:27 AM)
Maria,
I can't think of anyone who could be more perfect for such a 'prize'. Sounds like you've come back with an even brighter perspective. Can't wait to get our home rebuilt. We miss Bay St. Louis so much. This disaster has made us decide to make our permanant move up from South Florida even sooner than previously planned. We plan to spend Christmas 2006 up there. I'll let you know when the party is!
Diana, Coral Springs FL (Sent Dec 22, 2005 12:55:44 PM)
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