Even If You Can't See It, Doesn't Mean It's Not There

The Tsunami ~ two months later ~ the pain and suffering has not stopped. In that part of the world, rescue workers are still recovering and burying the bodies of the dead. Most of us cannot fathom over 100,000 people swept up from the face of the earth and drowned by water in less than 25 minutes. Not a thousand people, not three thousand people, not nine thousand people, nor ninety thousand, but more than 100,000...and this number will no doubt double by the final count. (According to ABC News Online, the statistics as of February 24, 2005 are: 123,487 confirmed dead; 113,961 missing and presumed dead.)

Many of the survivors have been so traumatized and devastated from the disaster that they may never get over it for the rest of their lives. We may not be there with them, but each of those deaths have affected every single one of us. Some of us may try to deny it but none can escape it...because it is part of what it means to be human. It's the mysterious presence in the boundaryless (borderless) exchange of energy and matter breathing in and breathing out everyday all over this earth, because we all share the same sky, the same earth.

We have wandered so far from that sacred connection to the earth our ancestors knew so well. Healing is a process that requires being present from moment to moment...as well as requiring patience and trust. Many of the survivors of the tsunami have been living from moment to moment...with very little choice but to remain patient and trusting. Something many of us know little about. Overwhelmed with shock and grief ~ the smallest familiar thing that can give a survivor a semblance of normalcy and stability is ever so important each day. There is much to learn from the survivors of the tsunami. They are new models for mankind. They are here to open us up to the return of ancient wisdom and knowledge. Opening us up to pay more attention to simply life itself and the rhythms and cycles of nature...the things we used to know but have forgotten...things we knew in the womb and in our natural moments of childhood. After that, life just got so "cluttered" that the clarity of our natural senses...our sense of tasting, and smelling, and seeing, and hearing and touching...got bombarded and increasingly dulled. And then, of course, the sixth sense, our intuition (our survival sense)as well. So many unnecessary things filled up our time and clouded our vision of what's really important. The keener our senses, the better we are able to tune into (pick up on) and understand the language of the animals, the trees, the air, the water, the earth ~ through which nature speaks to us.

We have seen in many National Geographic and Discovery Channel adventures that man's perception and higher understanding of nature leads to a greater chance of suvival against seemingly unsurmountable odds. If only we could relearn some of those things we once knew in order to be more attuned to our natural surroundings. The survivors of the tsunami can lead us to unclutter our own lives and realize the things that are really important.

For many of us, today, our pets are our closest connection to the natural world. Even in our modern societies, their natural instincts remain intact. Those of us who have cats or dogs know that they teach us many things. That's because our domestic pets are still a very real link to our roots. And, no matter how horrendous Mother Nature can sometimes be, she is still the most natural, comforting and stabilizing thing all of humankind has in common.


Peace
Patty Ann