Natural Disasters. I have been thinking about them, and the use of the word "disaster" to describe natural weather events.
Fortunately, northern Minnesota had a very mild and long summer, and we haven't experienced any serious gales of October or November -- yet. But that's just one little patch of the earth's surface. Clearly, people all over the U.S. and the world are experiencing increased climate chaos, leading to loss of life, possessions, property. Although I have chosen to detach from possessions over and over again over the years, I still really resonate with the pain people feel when their home flies away in a tornado, or drops into a rainy chasm, or burns in a wildfire, or falls down a hillside avalanche. It is a disaster to us, humans, when we unexpectedly lose things we love or have spent a long time building. It is painful to lose a home or not have one for whatever reason.
But I have been trying to imagine these huge weather events from the perspective of Mother Earth, or even, the world before humans created such widespread infrastructures. I mean, if no humans were in the picture, would earthquakes be considered "disasters"? Tornados? Wildfires? Tsunamis? They are awesome examples of the power of nature and the power of the divine. They are the earth stretching and re-orienting, refreshing herself. In the modern era, they are earth trying to regain a sense of balance after centuries of, at times, very inappropriate overuse. Before the era of electricity, parking lots, high-rise buildings, cars, suburbs, fast food restaurants, jobs, home and property ownership (virtually every aspect of our modern world) early humans had, well, fewer possessions to lose. And because I don't believe, per se, in "death" (the passionate stream of life goes on and on and we are all part of it, whether on the earth plane or not), I am not quite as worried about loss of life as some people are. Ultimately, there is no loss of life, just a change in form.
I guess I'm personally trying to shift, just a little, away from this idea that nature is hurting us, or causing disasters. A case could be made that the "disaster" has been "humans progressing full steam ahead without considering the health of the earth". But I don't even want to go down that road. I'm trying to get beyond the fear, blame, and anger, to a place of embracing earth's natural processes, allowing her to do what she needs to do, honoring her agency and power. To stand next to Lake Superior in gale force winds with open arms, welcoming the energy. Can we call these events something else? "Natural Adjustments"? "Nature being Nature"? "The Beautiful Force"?
