Waiting to Explode

“On Aug. 4, 2020, a fire at a warehouse on the Beirut waterfront ignited a cache of ammonium nitrate, an explosive material that had been stored at the site for more than six years. The giant blast sent a shock wave through the heart of the Lebanese capital, killing some 200 people and injuring thousands. Experts described it at the time as one of the largest nonnuclear explosions ever recorded.”

That explosive material was stored for more than SIX YEARS. Just waiting to explode.

Oftentimes, we know what’s lurking. We know where the dangers are, and we pretend. We even have an expression, saying “sweep it under the carpet” or “the elephant in the room.”

Often it is the brave ones among us who DARE to bring up what others want to forget.

Then, something EXPLODES, and people pretend to be shocked.

Blame is shared.

Spin doctors are hired.

Full press public relations ensues.

This also happens in families.

Hiding violence, keeping secrets, and telling lies will eventually blow up in our faces.

My advice is to look for the hot-spots and find ways to disarm and heal.

Always on your side,

Indrani

Read this essay by a Lebanese novelist recalling the shock and chaos of Aug. 4, 2020, when an explosion tore through the country’s capital: https://www.wsj.com/articles/five-seconds-that-flattened-beirut-11627099935?st=egoa5fxs1sdumaw&reflink=share_mobilewebshare