Don't Give Up

 DON’T GIVE UP

Meral woke up early in the morning. She looked at the clock by her bed. It was around four a.m. She shut her eyes and tossed and turned, but couldn’t go back to sleep. “What’s going on, Meral? Stop tossing around.” grumbled her husband. Before she could answer, a loud crash shook the house. At first, they didn’t know what was happening, and just looked at each other. The house was shaking, was that an explosion? They jumped out of bed and ran to the door, but it was hard to walk because of the shaking. As the tremor got stronger, they clung to each other, not knowing what to do. They just prayed, hoping it would stop.

In just a few seconds, everything changed. A huge shake and tons of destruction… It was an earthquake. After the shaking stopped there was a brief silence. They called out to each other in the darkness “Kids… Duru, Oğuz, are you okay?” They were thankful to hear each other’s voices. They’d survived, but everything was pitch black, with only a faint light from outside. They tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Oğuz said, “Let’s try the window.” They could not open the window either.

Then, they started hearing voices from outside. “Mom, dad, brother, sister...” Shouting... “Why aren’t you answering?” Sirens... “We’re here!”, “Can you hear us?” It was a mix of joy from hearing someone’s voice and sadness from not hearing anyone else.

Meral hugged her husband Ahmet and the kids. Oğuz said, “They can’t hear us, we’re stuck.” His mom replied, “No, they will hear us”. “We can’t lose hope.” Ahmet said to his wife, “May God bless you. You’ve never upset me in our 40 years of marriage. Forgive me if I’ve hurt you. But we’re not done yet, we’ll get out of here, don’t worry.” They were covered in dust from the collapsed building. They were scared and anxious but tried to stay calm. They were also thankful things weren’t worse. They focused on getting out and staying positive. As they tried to make some noise, they helped each other. Duru used a tin can she found to make noise. Oğuz tried pushing the rubble near the door. Ahmet worked on the stuck window. When they got tired, they took breaks and tried again. Finally, with one last push, the door opened. They were in shock but also overjoyed. They headed toward the light coming through the door.

Their home, which used to be on the eighth floor, was now on the second floor. They barely managed to walk out of the rubble. It felt like they were in a whole new place, with most of the buildings collapsed. The earthquake affected each area differently. The city was filled with dust, and sadness hung in the air. But there was always hope.

You could see it if you looked around; those who struggle, pursue, try to understand, and take action right away... Those who try to heal wounds, those who hug others to share their pain, those who wrap the cold with blankets... Those who give out soup to people who’ve forgotten their hunger... Those waiting to be rescued from the rubble, who treat strangers like family, holding on to what really matters...

Experiential Design Teaching says: “Don’t give up on yourselfif life did not give up on you yet.”

Meral, Ahmet, and their kids spread out in every direction. They started running around, figuring out where and how they could help others. They believed that by hoping and taking the right steps, they could overcome the obstacles.

Life is like a stage. In the middle of an earthquake, what role are you playing? Are you the one trying to open the jammed doors, or the one giving up without even trying?

Experiential Design Teaching is a science of reality that shapes the future with past experiences. It teaches the methods that individuals need to solve their problems and reach their goals.

It offers strategies to people who want to be happy and successful with the programs "Who is Who", "Mastery in Relationship" and "Success Psychology".

“What can "one" person matter among billions of people?

Ask that “one” person for the answer!”

 

Yahya Hamurcu