These writings followed a feeling contemplative discussion of Japan's recent catastrophe.

Waiting for Godzilla

 

When it’s all over

toy boats collide

bumper cars crash

buildings crumble like jigsaw puzzles

trains float like riverboats

and muddy water rushes in

how vulnerable everything is

how fragile we are

before the nuclear meltdown

waiting for Godzilla

like a science fiction film

no tickets needed

 

           Barbara Belle-Diamond

           March 12, 2011

It is so calm here, contrasted with the recent events in Japan.  I hear the Zen music sweetening the air with its zephyr call.  If only I could be cast under its spell permanently I would be a lucky lady.  I revere the sense of relief and release this music brings.

And I say to myself that it might be possible to bring healing to those who are still suffering from the effects of the disasters that have fallen upon Japan.  It is like Nero playing the violin while Rome burned.

Somewhere there might be a man or woman playing a flute or other instrument that lessens the tensions that have blown up inside the affected individuals.  Somehow there must be a god whose music could rise up and help the prisoners of disaster to become calm as they work to rebuild their souls.

Marsha

March 17, 2011

 

Japan—meltdown in progress—will they stop it before it is complete?  Who knows?  The governments—U.S. and Japanese— are not known for telling the truth; and even they can’t know how bad it will be—hard to go on as usual seeing the planet and its inhabitants so damaged.  And hard to stomach that corporations making money here in the U.S. have tons of money to lobby and prevent further safety measures already required in Europe. 

How long will the poor of the world have their very lives or deaths controlled by the greed of the rich?  How much can one planet or one person sustain without permanent harm?  Is there a happy future possible for the Japanese at all or for my 22 year old son or my friends or me?

I meditate, do yoga, eat healthy, do affirmations, strive to be loving and open hearted, giving and creative; all my strategies to stave away this gloom.  We’re all one world, one humanity—empathy being natural to humans.  The TV pictures of Japan—the people who died as their houses and cars were swept away, the survivors without homes, water, food, or warmth in the freezing night—hard to get out of my mind and have a “normal “ day, whatever that is.  Wish I had someone to hold at the close of every day, to cling to during this horrible crisis that seems to increase with the hours. 

Where will it stop?  Will my son be able to live, have children, have a good life?  Will I ever feel the happiness of my early childhood again, before the world seemed so frightening?  What if the full meltdown occurs and all is gone?  The people, animals, plants.  But there’s got to be a way for some survivors to replenish the planet somehow.  All I can think is to be thankful for all I have right now.

Lotus

March 17^th 2011

If Then

 

If it all goes, and I survive the event I just want enough strength and courage to help the other survivors…and I want the clarity to prioritize what I can do with whatever I have left…to be a candle in the wind, to have the patience and hope to be of service.

 

I want to give good choices to those who cannot decide, I want to move into the abyss and come out with more humility and strength, to retrieve some meaning from a senseless event.  I want to save a dog and as many children as I can find…and lead them to a place, safe and dry with the dog to protect them, while I gather food, water and wood.

 

If it all goes, I want to witness the rebirth from the ashes, to see the resilience, strength, sharing and good will that make a society that works for all survivors.  I want to experience the unaffected reaching out to help, without fear, or motive, or expectation.

 

Afterwards, I want to see us learn the things that would prevent it all going that way again…by feeling the generosity and caring to see us forever changed, and emboldened to know how connected we are, and how it all works out when we work it out together.

 

Then I will frequently remember the bravery and consideration, the touch and the sincerity, the flow of love bestowed, the gentle reassurance and the assertive determination, the humane and their humanity…

That would make it all worth going through, a nightmare with a happy ending.

Scott Wilmore