No, this isn’t about sex. It may be about fear and lack of trust, but it isn’t about sex. It’s not about fear or lack of trust in a person. It is about a relationship – the relationship we have with the earth. The trust most of us developed over time with the solid ground beneath our feet. I don’t live in California but once I experienced a very mild earthquake there. I’ve felt earthquakes elsewhere – very mild ones in unexpected places – New York, New Jersey, Arizona. Today was definitely different.

In fact, today was adding insult to injury. I’m fine and so, thankfully, are all the people I know. We are all cringing from being physically close to people, wary (and maybe even weary) of touching anything that anyone may have touched before us. Yesterday I wrote about how the isolation from crowds and public places opens up other opportunities. Today was definitely not what I had in mind.

I started the day as I do each day, with a shower followed by the first of 3 cups of coffee while I checked my personal and then my work email. At least that was the way it was supposed to go. Problem was the stable earth was not so stable and at 7:09 this morning, Salt Lake City experienced its worse earthquake in almost 30 years. Buildings were damaged, but I haven’t heard about people being hurt. If something were to be damaged, better buildings than people, right?

My earthquake experience this morning was compounded by the power being taken down. It was dark when the earthquake occurred. It took a while before I realized that I could use the flashlight on my cell phone to find other flashlights and battery power in case my phone ran out of juice. Getting dressed, finding keys and id in order to get outside if needed, really quickly came next.

A day without power. What would you do? Without internet access there was very little work I could do. Instead I spent the day talking to people on the phone and by text. At first, it was very worrisome. My phone signal kept disappearing and I couldn’t get through to anyone. Slowly, the phone became more reliable. People were so kind and kept reaching out to me from all over the country. Alone in an apartment, afraid of what could still happen, very isolated, and those calls and messages from close friends and relatives but also from people I don’t know well, made all the difference in how I felt during those 8+ hours without power. I feel like an old ad – reach out and touch someone – you can never tell what kind of difference it will make in someone’s life.