Posted on Monday, October 18 2010 by
Paola ::
Comments (1)
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Photo by MarcosOctavioMedalla
You would need to be living like a hermit not to have heard about the 33 rescued Chilean Miners. This story is a true story of survival and endurance, a personal test for each miner trapped 650meters below. When I first heard of their fate, we were visiting my parents in Chile, and like most people you feared the worst, waiting for the bodies to be recovered, especially as the days rolled into weeks. Then just as we were coming back home to Australia, word got out that in fact they had all survived 17 days buried down below. This was amazing, sure they had lost weight and mentally some were not as strong as others. Now the biggest question was the rescue.
As many would know they all surfaced safely to the fresh air a few days ago, to their families and the world media. This story has moved many, including me. As the human spirit is tested on many levels: physically, mentally and spiritually. How each person endures this test is a very personal triumph and journey that only they can tell. From an outsiders perspective, this proves that man is capable of so much, the will to live, and survive, to grow in ways you thought were not possible, as you become conditioned to your new environment and its’ limitations. For the sake of your life you do it, and decide that life is worth the struggle.
In life many of us have obstacles, and it is in the how you manage them that sees you triumph at the other end, you too become your own self regulator and your own creator, after all the objectives (goals) become more clearer during the struggle.
Many have made the claim that they are heroes, yet the usual response from them is a humble, “yo soy minero” = I am a miner. They did what they had to do to survive, and this act alone has propelled them to hero status. I can see that, yet they did what they are trained to do.
That is why I find their tale so inspiring and humbling, the endurance and the mental tests they had to battle each day, especially when the world had no contact with them and assumed the worst. They were below, rationing the little food and drink available so all could survive. They had a leader and he stepped up to the mark.
They are all changed men, they are not the same when they went down to do their usual shift, all those weeks ago. They have altered their lives and those around them. Personal growth does that to a person, they are more resilient, and resourceful, and many I am sure more grateful for what they have.
No matter how you see this story, you are moved and touched by their survival. I know it has touched me.