Finding Our Way Through The Fires
We have gone through this before. Many times. Some of my earliest memories are hosing down our house in the country in case the bush fires came our way. When the Black Saturday bush fires occurred, I witnessed huge fires and had to briefly leave my home because it was so filled with smoke. We are Australian, we know bush fires, we are equipped for this, right?
For whatever reason, this time feels different. Are they worse than the Black Saturday bush fires? I don’t know. And this is part of the problem. There is so much noise online and on social media that I don’t know which way is up. I don’t know if I am safe, I don’t know if there is an end in sight, and I don’t know what I need to do to prepare/help.
What I do know is that there tends to be three general ideas that are going around as to why this has occurred. The first is, of course, climate change. The second is that not enough burning off has occurred recently which then caused many areas to go up. And the third is that they were caused by arsons.
I am old enough to know that the truth usually lays somewhere in the middle and so I tend to believe that the reason is a mixture of all three. Sadly, this has opened up a huge discussion / debate in the media which means that when I try to find out accurate information about the fires, all that shows up is politicians and celebrities arguing. I could not care less about the comments made by Jeremy Clarkson, I just want to know the facts about the fires. In this scenario, I think it is so important that the media puts a stop to click baiting and simply has a 24-hour live feed where we can be updated correctly about the FIRES and the people affected. So far the best resources I have found are the CFA twitter account and the Vic emergency website.
There is also a lot of talk about the government taking control out of the hands of the firies, of roads been blocked off so that firies couldn’t use them, that Scott Morrison is to blame for it all, that there are not nearly enough supplies and resources, and that people should not donate because the money won’t find it’s way to the victims. I don’t know about you but I am exhausted. Not only by the fires but by all of the information.
Because of this, I wanted to put together a little post for those who might be in the same position that I am in and who are extremely scared and confused. I can’t say that I am an expert but I hope this information / these tips can help get you through this extremely difficult time.
Dealing with the smoke in Melbourne
The smoke from the East Gippsland fires has sent smoke down to Melbourne which had made the air quality extremely poor. While I have read that the worst of it was yesterday (Monday) I also read that the conditions are going to get bad on Thursday again. This makes it extremely hard to see on the roads, it means that people should not leave their homes if possible, and it means that many people are at risk e.g. those with asthma, the elderly, and people who are pregnant.
To best help cope, I went to the pharmacy last night and purchased a Ventolin inhaler (which I recommend stocking up on because they were almost sold out), a steam vaporizer to sleep with, some vix, and some eye drops to help with the stinging. Sadly, there is a huge shortage of masks in Victoria at the moment and there are none left at Chemist warehouse. It may still be possible to get them at your local hardware store. The key here is not to panic and worry about things running out, it is just about being as prepared as you can be until this is all over.
It can also be a good idea to try to seal any cracks in your home e.g. the bottom of the door to stop the smoke from getting in. Just having a couple of things in my kit helped ease my anxiety a little. If the air quality gets too bad, we are also more than happy to pack up the cats and leave so it can also help to have a solid exit plan in mind.
Some ways to deal with anxiety
Book in a session with your therapist / life-coach / mentor. If you do not have one, search online for counselling services that are available to you. Many professionals out there are currently offering their services for free.
Practice some self-care. Sometimes helping yourself is the best way to help the situation. Practice some yoga, meditate, write in a journal, watch your favourite movie, have a bath, do whatever it is that you need to do and whatever you can do to help yourself feel better.
Stop scrolling. It is important to remain educated but scrolling to the point of hysteria is not helpful for anyone. It is totally okay to turn off your phone for a bit and to shut off the news for a bit.
Ask people to please keep their political opinions to themselves during this difficult time. While people are entitled to their beliefs, you also need to protect your mental health and boundaries are important.
It’s okay to feel guilty and angry. Feel your feelings, you are entitled to them. Throw a stuffed toy against the wall, scream into a pillow, do what you have to do.
Pray, visualise rain, perform a rain spell, light a candle. Sometimes these things are all that is left to do.
Where to donate
There is so much talk out there about where to donate and personally I think if you can donate a little, donate somewhere that you are passionate about. If you want the money to go the animals, then find a fundraiser that gives to the animals. It is also important to do some research and to check the percentages of the donations and where they are actually going. As far as I know, supplies are no longer needed and it is more money that is desperately needed.
So far I have found…
A GoFundMe to raise money for masks for the firefighters
The Southern Cross Wildlife Care
The Vic Bushfire Disaster Appeal
And then, of course, Celeste Barber’s famous Facebook fundraiser. This one will go down in the history books and is evidence of how much power (we the people) actually have.
I am also really touched to see people like Elizabeth Gilbert who are donating all of their earnings from their tours etc to the fire relief. Seeing us band together is very inspiring and is what we must do. We must sing with one voice.
I hope this information has helped somewhat. I think the best thing we can do is to be brave and to continue on. Even though it feels wrong to work, to go out for dinner, or anything else while there are so many suffering, there are some that would love to be in the position to do all of those things so don’t stop yourself.
Much love and power to you
