The situation of flooding in Mississippi reminds us that once again we are not in control. We are constantly at the mercy of nature, and nature is sometimes unmerciful. We try to trick it, prevent it, look the other way from it, and fight it, but it will always win. Whether it be water, fire, wind, or the earth itself, we are surrounded by monstrous forces on a daily basis that remind us that we have no control whatsoever. It is humbling because humans seem to get full of themselves because we are at the top of the food chain, and questionably at the top of the intellect pole. (I say questionably because animals lower than us have never exhibited the immense stupidity that humans have.) That said, it is still a terrible thing to be in the way, when nature wants to push through.
The devastation that we see if you look close enough, has faces attached. many times we are so immersed in watching the visual destruction of nature as it powers through, that we lose sight of the men, women, children, and their pets that get laid waste in the picture. There are belongings, heirlooms, property, and memories now destroyed and ruined as not only physically, but psychologically earth shattering for folks.
People are often times defined by their possessions, and their possessions, and place on the earth sometimes define them. That's not the way it should be, but most of us are not nomads who wander from place to place. We want a home, and a place to stick our own little flag of self in the ground, so that we can feel secure, and unmovable. We collect things, pass things down to children, or other relatives so that we can live on in some strange way, and make a statement of worth and a footprint upon this planet. No matter what people say, it is important for people to feel that they matter, and what better way to do that than have something that says "I am here, and when I'm gone, I will be remembered". That is an important part of someone's identity, and if someone tells you that it's not important to them, then they are quite probably lying. All of us have an inate desire as humans to leave a footprint.
What happens when all of that is possibly gone? I can't imagine what it feels like for the victim of nature to have who they are thrown about, crumbled and destroyed. It is possibly the worst feeling in the world, because it probably feels as though your identity, your essence, and your inner soul has been taken away and possibly forever. There is no heirloom, no "something old" to hand down to a daughter for her wedding day..no pictures of one when they were younger, or their parents' belongings. The loss is as complete as anything imaginable. It is not only a loss of self, and things, but a loss of history, which everyone needs to know where they come from in order to move forward. How can one move forward now?
people always say, "Well just move", but even that is something unimaginable to people because some have been in a particular area all of their lives, and their families have been in those areas, and generations have lived in the area. It is also a definition of self, and history that cannot just be pushed to the side like some bad idea. Places and things can define people so much that they are intertwined with the material and the location. I have not experienced such a loss, and makes the things that I have lost in my life seem small by comparison.
Yes the human spirit is very strong, but some never get over such an incredible loss of self. It is a sadness that no matter how you fare afterward never leaves, because there is going to be forever a part of that person lost in rubble, ruin, or soaking and irretrievable.
My point is this: In man's quest to live, he will often get into squabbles with nature. And in those fights, he will always, always lose. But sometimes the loss is not just the fight itself. The loss is OF self. And to lose that is the hardest part of being at its mercy.
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