Natural events

80,000 people is too many to really comprehend. I mean really comprehend, as in understanding their complex lives as we do those of our friends and family.

It was not an evil thing that the Earth did, deep in an underwater fissure-- a sudden slip, a realignment of plates, the simple relief of pressure. It just acted as it had to, according to the laws of nature. The dynamics of being a planet with a warm core and cool crust sets up the conditions requiring that what we call earthquakes must happen.

As conscious creatures, we are the ones with hearts, feeling the pain and loss and fear that collect around our idea of "earthquake." It hurts us to see suffering, to feel it ourselves, to dread it in the future. The dynamics of being a thinking creature with sensitivity and a mind sets up the conditions requiring that we feel pain in the wake of destructive natural events.

It hurts. So many beings are suffering, so many have died. Honoring our heart's response, we help as we can, with money or other assistance.

Nature seems alternately cruel or kind, evil or benign, vindictive or protective. But those distinctions exist only in our conceptions. Nature is, in fact, just nature. Just as it is.

And so are our hearts. Please heed the urges you feel to be generous. Let yourself help in any way possible. It's only natural.