This week, I found myself among the 1.2 billion people who tuned in to watch the rescue of the 33 miners that had been trapped underground for more than 2 months. The overwhelming emotion that I felt as each man was released was indescribable. What a miracle it is that all of those men as well as those who entered the mine to assist in the rescue were successfully returned to freedom. I couldn’t help but think about what it had taken for all of this to happen.
The lives of these men will never be the same. Everyone is honoring them as heroes all around the world and while I am so happy that they have all been safely returned to their loved ones, the true heroes in this rescue are also all of those people from around the world who made it possible. It is just another wonderful example of the human spirit and the feeling that we are all in this together. While the major technology was provided by the United States, the experts here worked with others from many countries to secure what the engineers believed to be the best knowledge and products to use in what became an international rescue effort. Then there are all of the experts who worked together to help the miners with communication, nutrition, medical aid, etc. during the process of waiting until they could be rescued. The list goes on and on.
Then there are the men themselves. For 17 days, they lived in that underground emergency site not knowing if anyone would ever find them alive a half mile below the surface. Once again, the human spirit took over as a plan was devised to keep them alive for as long as possible in case there would be a rescue. They helped each other. They put together a plan to do everything that they could in order to keep their bodies and minds and souls as healthy as possible. And when they finally were found, they knew that there were still tough times ahead especially with the original estimate that they probably would not be rescued until close to Christmas. Just because there was a rescue effort underway did not guarantee that it would successful.
And then there were the family and friends and all of those other people who set up a camp outside of the mine and waited and waited and waited and prayed and supported each others for several months before the actual rescue was undertaken. They prayed together as did we for them that they would all become survivors. No one lost hope. No one was focused on anything other than supporting and helping others in any way possible.
That is the lesson of the miners and their rescue. If people will take the time to understand this message and incorporate it into their own lives, what an even bigger testimonial this would be to all of those miners and every person who chose to involve themselves at whatever level. We need to help each other. We need to be there for each other in both good times and tough times. We need to open our hearts and be willing to assist anyone who is in need. Not only does it help them but it also helps us to be better people. And there is no greater reward in this life than to know that you made a positive difference.
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Barbara Jacoby is an award winning blogger that has contributed her writings to multiple online publications that have touched readers worldwide.