My alarm startles me awake at 5:15 a.m. – relieving me from the nightmare I just had about massive floodwaters carrying me away after a breaking levee. I breathe in, and feel incredibly grateful I only remember fragments of this terrible dream, but then immediately feel guilty that there are thousands of Houston-area residents who cannot simply wake up from this living nightmare we call Hurricane Harvey.
I’ve got a seven-mile run on my schedule this morning – and I cannot wait to get out on the trail so I can reflect, pray, and try to find some peace in all of life’s chaos. But at the same time, I am enshrouded in a feeling of guilt. Here I am, safe, comfortable, and healthy, running in Colorado – far from the rain, wind, and flooding. I feel guilty the sky is so blue and the sun’s rays are glistening along the horizon. I have done nothing for the last 24 hours except watch the news and gasp at the heartbreaking photographs. That’s where guilt lives.
What can I do to help? Can I be someone who rescues? I’m so far removed from it all, but I have such a conviction to do something. Then it hits me. Re-charged by adrenaline, I pick up my pace as I remember the recent CNN story about how an anti-human trafficking group is using data to track criminals with donated Splunk technology. It reminds me I work for a company that has a philanthropic mission to use real data to power real social change. It’s called Splunk4Good.
After walking in the door and kicking off my shoes, I check my email. Sure enough, email threads are already stacking up about Splunk employees who have been impacted by the hurricane and recovery efforts that are underway – including a Splunk4Good Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund.
I know my purpose now in all of this. I know exactly what I am going to do. I am going to write. I’m going to donate. I’m going to offer my support and encourage others to do the same.
My mantra today will be: “Do small things with great love and you’ll make a big difference.”
I’ve always been inspired by Splunk4Good – from my first day on the job when I was asked to volunteer at Buena Vista Horace Mann Middle School in the Mission district of San Francisco, to the latest CNN article about using Splunk to identify human traffickers committing heinous crimes. Knowing what Splunk is doing in the community makes me feel the work I do every day really does drive social change. At Splunk, I have finally found my purpose.
Some companies save people money. Some companies save people time. At Splunk, we save people. Period.
Please join me in helping restore the lives, homes, and hearts of those impacted by Hurricane Harvey by donating to the Splunk4Good Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund.
