It's sprinkling out; just a very gentle rain. Nature is being kind here, but in Brisbane and other places there is suffering. It's easy to see how aboriginal peoples saw meaning in all of this lightning, thunder and shaking of the earth. If I was inclined that way, I'd say this rain is the tears of people in Arizona and the relief that Ms. Giffords has opened her eyes. But the earth has other concerns. It struggles to survive, and whatever stretching and storming that requires we are a witness to, but not able to control.
All gone in an instant - the structures of humans - we should remember that. I saw a photo in the newspaper this morning of a man in Queensland carrying a small kangaroo in knee high water. It touched me so much. I know that thousands of kangaroos have been deliberately exterminated due to their population mushrooming. But here was a man who could not bear to stand by and watch one living thing die. And the kangaroo was so relaxed and trusting in his arms. Interspecies aid. Like the people who took pets after Katrina, so they would not suffer and die wandering looking for their owners.
We are capable of great compassion. It is our best quality, I believe. I hope we exercise it more and not less.
No comments:
Post a Comment