Mute black night,
Sudden fire.
Destruction.
Disaster strikes at its own time. It is so overwhelming that we can do nothing other than accept it. It alters the course of our day, our work, our very thinking. Although it is tempting to resent disaster, there is not much use in doing so. We cannot say that a disaster had malice toward us, though it might have been deadly, and it’s hard to say that it has “wrecked” our plans: In one stroke it changes the very basis of the day.
Disaster is natural. It is not the curse of the gods, it is not punishment. Disaster results from the interplay of forces; the earthquake from pressures in the earth, the hurricane from wind and rain, even the accidental fire from a spark. We rush to ask “Why?” in the wake of a great disaster, but we should not let superstition interfere with dispassionate acceptance. There is no god visiting down destruction.
Disasters may we change us deeply, but they will pass. We must keep to our deeper convictions and remember our goals. Whether we remain ash or become the phoenix is up to us.
Of course the tsunami comes to mind most recently when I think about this topic. I shook my head at those wingers who were calling it “the will of God” or “punishment” since so many of the victims were muslims. I hope that we will work to help the victims recover without blaming them or God or anything other than natural forces.
I also think of my own personal “disasters” – my parents’ deaths, loss of friends, the things that have at times driven me crazy. But these are really just natural progressions of life. Of course I’ve had to mourn the losses, even go a little crazy to deal with things. But perhaps that was a more natural reaction than those of people who try to be in control of their feelings and emotions. I think I experience life at a deep level, and am not as afraid of dark emotions and feelings as others may be. But I think I am more balanced now, more able to deal with life, because of having experienced and survived those things I’ve gone through.
So much of what we all really need is balance. When a disaster happens, it throws many things out of balance. The work needs to be in restoring balance, in alleviating the imbalance of those who have suffered. That is why we give to disaster relief – not to make ourselves feel better, but to restore in whatever way we can some of that balance. We can’t restore the balance to those who have lost their lives or loved ones so easily – but we can help them understand that no god is punishing them, that what happened simply happened. They don’t have to feel guilty for surviving, or punished, wondering what they did wrong that somehow made some god angry.
Let us work to help someone who survives a disaster become a phoenix, and not let them fall into ashes.
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