Kings of the world

We often see ourselves as virtually omnipotent. Man is the king of the universe. We rise and fall by our own actions, our success or failure is fully in our hands. Our world is formed by our intelligence and our work and work habits. We are, all powerful. At least that is what we like to believe.

It is unfortunate that it takes a disaster on the scale of what has happened in Sendai, Japan to humble us as a species. We often believe it is us who shapes our world, and while man has a tremendous amount of influence and have pushed the planet about, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, it is evident we have little power over our Mother Earth. The events in Japan though tragic have shown us the pure power and awesome force of nature. The footage coming out of the east is powerful imagery.

What we generally see are quick videos of a tornado or hurricane and its aftermath. Although dangerous they pale in comparison to the destructive forces that have ravaged this coastal city. The windstorms and rains seem to last only a few minutes and then are gone. I think one of the reasons the tsunami seems so powerful is the length of some of the footage. We see powerful flows of water for extended time tossing our possessions around like tinker toys. Seawalls are overcome by monster waves which then flood the plains and streets. Even the ships in port are thrown about like paper in the wind.

What we will learn is what we have always learned. Although in comparison we are weak and powerless in the face of nature's wrath, we have an indomitable spirit which will again rise from the waters and make us whole again.

Nature is our master no matter how much we believe otherwise, but it is our spirit nature can not overcome.