Blowing in the wind

Friday morning, like so many around this shared globe, I arose to news of a devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan.   Once again, we are reminded that Mother Nature can never be taken for granted.  Every so often, this Earth that can on one hand be so incredibly beautiful shows us that it has an equally awesome power to be even more destructive in one fell swoop than mankind at its worst.  And that takes some doing.

So, while an insane and criminal tyrant such as al-Gaddafi massacres his own people and the European Union and the United States dither about enforcing no-fly zones to protect civilians - which would seem to be a no-brainer in the circumstances - our Earth decided to make its own unhappiness felt in spectacular fashion.  Unfortunately, rather than deservedly wreaking havoc on al-Gaddafi, the wrath of natural forces fell upon the unassuming Japanese.  Estimates so far are that some 10,000 people may have been killed.  Whole towns have been wiped off the map and more than a million people are without water or power.  Alarmingly, two nuclear reactors situated in Japan have been crippled.  Officials are working desperately to prevent explosions there that could release nuclear material into the wind.  To spread to us all.

There is literally nothing that I can do at present here other than to contribute to relief agencies.  I would love to take part physically in attempts to assist, but right now am only able to help fund such efforts.  In a sense of kindred spirit, I walked down to the Lake Geneva shore on Friday afternoon to gaze through the haze across the lake's gently rippling waters where gulls were floating on the waves and ponder how the same water that gives life and sustenance to us all can take that life and sustenance away in seconds.

My heart and prayers go out to all those who are affected and the families and friends who love them and are waiting desperately for news.  It is not hyperbolic to describe this happening as a disaster of epic proportions.  If anything, that is an understatement.  As the Japanese Prime Minister has said, "The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear incident have been the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of World War II."

To belabor the obvious, it will be a very long time before this crisis is sorted.