Even at the darkest times, miracles happen

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By Daryn Kagan 12:44 PM Saturday, March 19, 2011

“Go ahead! Just try to run an inspiring news website in light of all the devastating news coming out of Japan,” I can hear my critics crowing right now.

They are the same doubters who ask, “How can you claim there are good things happening in the world when there are such tragedies?”

From the day I launched DarynKagan.com, the website featuring stories with the theme “Show The World What’s Possible!” I’ve actually never claimed that bad things don’t happen in the world. Of course, they do. You can’t work in traditional news as long as I did and not know that.

It’s just that over the course of covering countless tragedies, I came to realize that even in the darkest, most awful situations, there are miracles. Ordinary people will do extraordinary things to become everyday heroes.

That’s why my spirits were lifted when I read about the 4-month-old baby rescued from the rubble of the tsunami. Time magazine reports that Japanese searchers found the precious bundle under layers of debris. She had literally been swept from her parents’ arms during the tsunami. They both survived, convinced their baby girl was dead. Can you imagine the joy and swelling hearts of that reunion?

And what about the heroes? How can we not be in awe of those they are calling the “Fukushima 50,” the workers who stayed behind at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant to prevent a meltdown. They face huge health risks, and yet they stay.

They remind me of the 9/11 heroes on board United Airlines flight 93, the ones who brought down the airliner, assuring their own death, yet doing what they could to save the lives of countless other Americans.

None of us will ever know if we’re made of that kind of stuff unless and until we’re faced with such daunting and selfless choices ourselves.

My heart swells when I celebrate these amazing stories, but I also ache for the 11,000 dead and missing, for the survivors who face such difficult challenges right now in simply living everyday life.

The bottom line is a concept that has given me much peace during challenging times in my own life. Simply, “It’s All True.”

When something awful and heartbreaking happens in our lives, we often try to convince ourselves it’s all bad or it’s all good. We should be mad at a certain person, yet we still love them.

So much grief comes from trying to shove all of our feelings in a single box, when really, it’s all true.

If your life is anything like mine, the most devastating, sad times have also brought great gifts. When someone has wronged me, I can often also see my part in the deed. It’s all true.

I woke up this morning feeling terrible for the millions in Japan who have no food, heat, power or homes. I did a quick inventory as I opened my eyes. There I was in my warm bed. All my loved ones are accounted for. My lights went on with the flick of a switch. I knew there were cereal, milk and tea waiting for me downstairs for breakfast. I suddenly felt like the richest woman in the world.

So go ahead and feel the sorrow for the dark times Japan is facing. But also open your heart to the possibility of miracles and heroes while figuring out what small thing you can do to help.

The next time it feels like a tsunami sweeps through your own life, you’ll probably want to give a good cry or two. I hope you also make time to take an inventory. I bet you’ll find plenty of blessings in that storm.

It will all be true.

Daryn Kagan is the creator and host of DarynKagan.com, an online community that features a daily webcast of inspirational stories. The former CNN anchor and news reporter is the author of “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared To Dream They Could Make a Difference.”

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