“Awareness of impermanence is encouraged, so that when it is coupled with our appreciation of the enormous potential of our human existence, it will give us a sense of urgency that I must use every precious moment.“–The 14th Dalai Lama.
I awoke this morning from my peaceful perch in Barbados to news of a massive earthquake yesterday in Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. In the BBC report that alerted me to the event, a British Geological Survey geologist commented that the 7.0 quake, centered ten miles west of Port-au-Prince, hit a bad trifecta: large magnitude, poor country, dense population.
But that’s not really so remarkable; one need only think back to the 1988 Armenia; 1999 Izmit, Turkey; 2005 Kashmir, Pakistan; or 2009 Sichuan, China earthquakes to know that accumulated stress in the earth always finds release in geologic, if not human, time. But for those who pay attention to these types of “natural” disasters, what was more startling was the location of this earthquake.
Pakistan, Turkey, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iran, India, China. This litany of earthquake foci may unsettle but not surprise us because we know that these locations trace the arcs of great mountain ranges at the suture zones between colliding continents. Expected Caribbean “natural” disasters, on the other hand, usually center on volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and landslides. Indeed, Haiti has not experienced an earthquake of this magnitude since 1770. But in a corollary to the caution that “where there is smoke, there is fire,” to the geological savant, where there is volcanism there are earthquakes. And indeed, the collision of the Caribbean Sea and North American lithospheric plates is the agent of both these Caribbean phenomena.
Barbados, in the easternmost Caribbean, is a coral platform rather than an active volcanic center. Still, I wondered if I had felt the shaking. Depending on magnitude, lithospheric ruptures anywhere in this region could be perceived by others islanders because, to seismic energy, the Caribbean is a small place. We know that Haitians felt it horribly. And according to the BBC, their spontaneous responses have included prayer. Such responses connect Haitians to other people who have endured this kind of trauma. Like the Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that inspired debate among common people as well as luminaries including Voltaire, Alexander Pope, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the subject of God’s place in the natural world and human affairs, along with concerted efforts at disaster control, the Haiti earthquake spurs entreaties for intercession and appeals for compassion.
The earthquake caused me to recall Buddhist teacher Sylvia Boorstein’s response to the question “Why me?” spoken when extraordinary lamentable conditions arise. “Why not me?” teaches Boorstein. The earthquake in Haiti reminds me that the Earth is home to myriad creatures who are but temporary global residents; at every moment, all living beings are the Earth’s subjects. Yet social and economic circumstances cause some living beings greater vulnerability to such disasters. I’m glad that, according to my children, in Barbados study of “natural” disasters is part of the social, not natural, science curriculum. It underscores that indeed these phenomena are both social and “natural” and that our responses must include compassion, kindness and prayer as well as scientific questions and explanations.
ordianry sparrow says
It was us. . .
Sarah says
Incredible post. Thanks so much for writing this, Jill! -Sarah
oliver mwangi says
the earth mother is angry we dump nuclear toxic waste in the sea her beutiful divine kingdom the earht is alive and we are hurting her when will you ever learn capitalism has stripped her of her resouces she tells me that you aint seen nothing you had a chance in coppenhagen and you snobbed her the sun is her mother she gives you more energy than you will ever need she loves you but in seven days she the earth mother will slap your wrist better go back to coppenhagen andclean up the sea this is a direct threat on thousands and this not the poor
Richard Shelmerdine says
I feel really sorry for these guys. We all need to donate as much as possible. Maybe it is a sign though. We should at least think of it as a sign of some kind.
Sudo says
Human nature is to find meaning in things that have no logical reasoning the way we see it. We think of ourselves as the center of the world, the most important thing on it. The earth moves, we just happen to be on it. The 'earth mother' isn't angry, there have been earthquakes for millions of years, long before we came here and long after we're gone they'll still be here. We are arrogant if we think that everything is about us.
StevenK says
Oliver, not only are coherent sentences good for you, but the inherent flaw in your logic is that Haiti was not a Capitalistic powerhouse. They are the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Most of them likely wouldn't know what nuclear toxic waste was. If you think capitalism is destroying the world, it's clear you've never been to (what is now) the former Soviet Union. Capitalism hasn't 'stripped her' of resources, they're still here on the earth. We could destroy all of humanity with our most powerful nuclear weapons, and though humanity would no longer exist, for all our 'power' the Earth wouldn't even notice. In a geological timeframe it would recover faster than you can snap your fingers.
The only thing worse than thinking you can have a lasting effect on the geological standing of this planet is to think that you can save something far beyond your comprehension. What's even more sad, however, is when people use tragic disasters like this as a platform to spit their political garbage at the rest of us.