As the world watched, the last trapped miner was rescued in Chile today. I have friends who watched some of it, as it happened. I have at least one friend that watched the entire dramatic rescue! I was swamped at work today, but I did see miner #24 come out of the rescue capsule and be united with his wife. To say that it was moving is the understatement of the year.
An insightful 21 year old shared this thought on facebook early this evening:

Watching the rescue of these Chilean miners is probably the most inspiring thing I’ve ever seen…just a reminder to never give up hope : )

I agree. Watching the final moments of this long and drawn out rescue process is indeed a reminder that we should never give up hope. I am just like everyone else around the globe tonight. I am thrilled and ecstatic that the ordeal is over. I am proud of everyone that has contributed to the success of the mission. And watching the miners reunite with their families is emotionally overwhelming. But I have a different spin on the entire process too.

The rescue in Chile has given me renewed hope in a much different way. Watching the reaction of my friends from all ages and walks of life to the events of recent days in Chile has given me a renewed sense of hope in the goodness and decency of people. Maybe I should not be so surprised. Perhaps I am exposed to the darker side of human nature far too much. But I am so touched that people are thrilled about the rescue of people that live in a different country and speak a different language. It has been a reminder to me to never give up hope on the capacity of human beings to feel genuine love and concern, even for total strangers.

I am also reminded during this process how inspiring it is to see other people overcome seemingly impossible odds. In Chile, they overcame a lot. But most importantly it took a tremendous team effort to override all of the difficulties. We need to witness such events. It is good for us. We need to see that other people care. We need to see that real rescues take place. It is serves as a reminder to never give up hope.

My final reaction to the events of the past several days in Chile will sound odd to some. Every year the police dept. calls me to assist with suicides. Those are tough calls. Working with a family facing the aftermath of a suicide is difficult. People commit suicide when they are totally and completely hopeless. Life is so painful that they see no alternative. I wonder tonight if there is a depressed and hopeless person out there somewhere who watched these events take place. I wonder if it served as a reminder to never give up hope…

Thanks for the thought Kate.  I am glad you have witnessed something so inspiring today!