Earthquakes

The world seems smaller and I pay attention to more and more of the news. I have corresponded for some months, both in an e-group and by snail mail with a woman in New Zealand who lives only a few miles from the epicenter of the earthquake that did great damage to Christchurch a couple of weeks ago. For even longer I have been reading the wonderful thoughtful blog of a man in Japan -- who fortunately lives well up a mountain. Yesterday's enormous earthquake and tsunami seemed all the more immediate because I could connect someone I've never met but whose thoughts I've enjoyed. Someone he cares a great deal for was a subject of concern as communications were impossible. Later in the evening my daughter, who lives int eh Bay Area told me that California's coastal highways were partly closed due to the warning of a counter tsunami. I've just read that they got high waves so far four people have been caught up in them but no deaths.

The so called Rim of Fire in the Pacific is unstable as has been known for a long time. The earth shifted four inches on its axis due to this newest earthquake. We live on a planet with geological forces beyond anything we can control. When one makes connections, even one-way connections, like simply reading the blog of an interesting writer, it is the nature of our natures to be concerned, to pay attention, to think about fragility and unpredictability. The corollary seems to me to be that appreciation of the positives of our own situation become more precious and treasured.

The sun is out today, after a day of rain, my little piece of the world looks beautiful and the crows are out calling to one another. The beginning of spring is a week away. For me it looks like a lovely day ... but through the scrim of news I know that in many places in the world, [e.g., Japan after the quake, Libya during it's insurrection] it is a day of despair. I've learned to balance what I will do with my small life today with what I know others must do with theirs.