There's no disaster that can't become a blessing, and no blessing that can't become a disaster. -- Richard Bach

When I was swinging hammers with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans 2.5 years after Katrina hit I asked myself more than once if what I was doing was a good thing. I went to New Orleans because I wanted to help those less fortunate. Yet when I arrived I found that many never returned to rebuild. Instead they turned a disaster into an opportunity to rebuild elsewhere.

Whether or not New Orleans should be rebuilt is debatable. Odds are there will be another Katrina, just with a different name. There is a good chance the levees will break again and the house I helped build will be destroyed. As I pounded nails into the framing of a new home that may be destroyed in the next hurricane I thought to myself – if it was me, I would rebuild elsewhere.

For many the current economic crisis is their Katrina. People are losing their jobs and their homes. Life as they knew it is gone. Change has been forced upon them. Where do they go from here?

It is hard to let go of what you once knew. But for those who can let go, the current economic crisis can be a great opportunity. An opportunity to rebuild elsewhere.

Photo credit: Flickr

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New Orleans Habitat for Humanity