Hurricane Melissa ~ Re-building Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa's arrival in Jamaica may carry a deeper spiritual message — one of cleansing, awakening, and a call for justice and transformation.

The storm’s arrival is unprecedented. Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica as a Category 5, one of the strongest hurricanes in recorded Atlantic history in late October 2025. The devastation is stark: flooding, power loss, homes wrecked. But beneath the headlines, there is a deeper story often overlooked — a story of imbalance, neglect, and the peeling back of a society’s hidden truths.

Jamaica today is known around the world for its beauty: lush mountains, warm seas, vibrant culture. Yet at the same time we see stark contrasts: luxury resorts where the very wealthy indulge, gated villas and yachts while some live in shanties; crime, inequality, neglect. Resorts like Hedonism II and other all-inclusive adults-only destinations illustrate a kind of hedonism that exists alongside poverty and despair. This storm may be calling our attention to that very contradiction.

Spiritually, storms often serve as disruptive messengers. They don’t just destroy buildings – they expose the foundations beneath them. When Melissa hits, the floodwaters and winds are doing more than damage: they’re shaking the structures we depend on, forcing us to ask: What has been built on sand? What have we ignored while we partied behind luxury gates?

In that sense, Melissa can be seen as a call for new beginning. For Jamaica to become the paradise it truly could be — not just for the few in the resorts, but for everyone. A place of dignity, safety, joy and belonging — where the wealth of the land, the culture, the people is shared, not hoarded. A place where the shanties are transformed, the wealth flows back into community, and the gated walls come down.

This is, I believe, the spiritual angle of the storm: cleaning up corruption, neglect, and imbalance. Recognizing that the true paradise isn’t found behind bulkheads and luxury but in the flourishing of every soul. The question we are being asked is this: If not now, when? If not here, where?

When the wind calms, what will Jamaica look like? Will it rebuild the old inequalities, or will it rise into something new? Will we keep the gates locked, or will we open doors? Will wealth continue to isolate, or will it integrate into healing, growth and community?

Because a storm like Melissa does not only touch the palm trees and coasts — it touches the soul of a society. And the message it leaves offers an invitation: to stand for renewal, justice, and inclusion.