It felt surreal, last night, to be watching a serene full moon float through the trees and mountains and emerge into a still, calm Welsh night just as my television showed scenes from America of massive waves eroding beaches, flooded empty roads, and modern cities overwhelmed by wind and water. I felt a mixture of incredulity, sadness, sympathy and also gratitude for the peace of my own surroundings.
Many around the world and indeed in those parts of the US which were unaffected by the hurricane, will like me have been awed by the scenes from the East Coast and may too have given thanks for their own safety while praying for those in trouble. And it is not done yet. As the hurricane peters out it may be that there will be new weather challenges which confront America, for it is the time for us to be reminded once again of the power of nature as the winds of change - such an important part of 2012 – blow through.
It is no time for complacency from we who watch, for all of us will have our own reminders of man’s relationship with nature and Earth in time to come. Surging waves from turbulent seas will batter other coastlines, weather will alter other landscapes, power will be lost in many great cities for long periods of time, and normal life will cease for many people for weeks at a time. It may not happen all at once and it will not be cataclysmic, but it will happen, as a necessary part of the planetary transition.
It looks as if, yesterday, Americans coped wonderfully in preparing for and dealing with a potential disaster though no doubt recriminations will come. In the knowledge that we too may be touched similarly by the force of the elements one day, please have empathy and compassion for the creatures and plants and trees and people that have suffered and lost, and whose world will never be the same.
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