Community rebuilds after Australian fires

Adrian Hyland, a father in rural Victoria, chronicles how a local community and school district recovered from a firestorm, "a 13-metre wall of flame that melted steel" and "swept through the valley in two minutes." Buildings exploded in flames, taking hundreds of houses as well as the community hall and a school that Hyland describes as "the shining light of the local community." What he describes in his article is about the most frightening event you can imagine.

However, the community did not just endure, it rebuilt. In less than a week, the local school reopened. Teachers, local officials and business, numerous volunteers located a building for the school and donated supplies. With the new school opened, students who had lost parents, friends, and homes had a place to grieve together - and to work through their grief together.

Most people have a list at the back of their minds. It consists of all the the worst things you can think of, worst case scenarios: losing your home, your job, losing a loved one, facing your deepest, longest held fear. The kinds of things that make you wonder, how could I go on? What is life after such a tragedy? Hyland's article reminds us, however, that human beings are more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. We can endure, we can rebuild. And as Hyland eloquently points out, these post-tragedy heroes are not "pop stars and plastic personalities ... money men ... limelight hoggers and solipsistic talking heads" but everyday people like school teachers.

It's enough to make you re-evaluate your fears - and the people you value.

Read Adrian Hyland's full article here. Photo credit: Tim Young in Strathewen 'like a war zone' article.