Bellaire Rising to the Challenge

Several of us on City Council have gotten together and ventured out into the neighborhoods to check in on people cleaning up after the flood, to show our support and share information.  To a person, those we’ve visited with are in remarkably good spirits, buoyed no doubt by the kindness of both neighbors and (now former) strangers.  Volunteers have just been showing up and getting right to work.

In the hardest-hit neighborhoods we’ve encountered folks from all over Bellaire and beyond.  Many who were less directly affected have dropped everything to lend a hand.  Informal relief efforts have been popping up, to collect donations and match volunteers with homeowners needing assistance.  This unfathomable catastrophe has brought out the best in all of us, and together we’re pulling through.

As the debris piles up, we see not despair but hope.  We’re not kidding ourselves; we know we have a long road ahead of us.  We know it’s going to be hard.  But it helps considerably that we’re all in it together, picking each other up any time we start to fall down.  I asked some who were flooded how they’re maintaining such a positive outlook.  They acknowledged all the external support they’re receiving, but it’s their internal strength that becomes even more obvious when talking with them.

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.” — William James

“It’s not what happens to you that matters.  It’s how you respond to what happens to you that makes a difference.” — Zig Ziglar

I've always been proud to call Bellaire home but never more than right now.  Seeing everyone coming together is really something special.  We’ve shown not only our compassion, but our unshakable resolve in the face of adversity, all while maintaining an upbeat, can-do attitude.  This is a defining moment for us as a community, and we’re rising to the challenge.