04 Mar The Supermodel and the Tsunami
Unfortunately for many people the “wake up” call which drives them into “crossing the threshold” is often one of pain or loss. An especially moving and tragic example of this comes from the life of the supermodel Petra Nemcova.
On the website for the charity Happy Hearts Fund which she set up she tells her story in her own words;
“It was a beautiful sunny day in Thailand. My partner and I took a walk in the morning on the beach. We just finished breakfast and went back to the bungalow to begin packing because we were planning to leave in two hours. In a matter of seconds life changed for us and for millions of people. There was no warning. I looked up and heard people screaming. In seconds, the bungalow completely crashed. There was glass everywhere and we were trying to hold on for dear life. In that moment it didn’t matter how strong we were. It didn’t matter if I was a good swimmer. The power of nature was too strong for anyone.
I must have had angels looking after me because there was really no chance that I could have survived. My pelvis was broken in four places and I almost drowned many many times so I thought for sure that I wouldn’t be saved. After holding onto a palm tree for eight hours I was found by a Thai man who risked his life to save the lives of strangers. Another wave could have come any minute yet he chose through his unconditional love to try to save others.
From this experience the most painful part was not the physical pain. It was emotional pain from hearing children screaming for help when I was holding onto a palm tree. Because there was debris around me and I was trapped I couldn’t go and help them. After half an hour I couldn’t hear their voices any more which meant that they couldn’t hold on any longer. In that moment I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t help them. Now I that I have survived I have the choice to help children who survive natural disasters but are often forgotten.
That experience is what keeps me and the Happy Hearts Fund team driven. It is what made me decide that I had to do something.”
Petra’s story and many others like it were examined by Dr Gregg Steinberg who from them identified stages that were common to each story. In the next post we will look at Dr Gregg Steinberg’s stages of transcendence.
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