Here are five things that you can use right now:
- Count your blessings. When you see what can transpire in an instant, some things as simple as having a roof overhead, food to eat and loved ones nearby, take on a new poignancy. Write down what you are grateful for, and do it daily. What you focus on grows...especially your appreciation for the little things in life.
- Walk in their shoes and send your good wishes. What if a wave just washed away your life, as you knew it? We all share the same fears; we all hope for a better day. As Chief Seattle said, "We are all connected - what affects one affects us all in this web of life called Earth." Experience empathy and send good wishes. They matter more than you know.
- Say, "I love you," often. In day-to-day life, we often don't take the time to value the people that matter most until something changes. What if you expressed love and gratitude and said, "I love you," whenever possible? If you thought, "This day could be my last," who would you want to hug?
- Forgive -- life's too short for grudges. If a partner or friend dies unexpectedly, it would be even more excruciating if there were still matters unresolved. Life can change in a blink , so clean the slate. If you can't heal the grudge face to face, write a letter and don't mail it. The act of forgiving does not say the situation miraculously is fine. It simply releases the energy that imprisons you.
- Compassion in action. Doing something physical can help relieve the sadness. Even sending a very small amount of money means you have engaged, that you are part of the solution. Small acts of kindness can have big rewards for you. Whether it's the Red Cross or Save the Children, the act of doing something can provide more than aid to the victims -- it can provide a measure of disaster relief to you.
It's been heartbreaking to watch the news out of Japan in the last week. Like you, I found myself shifting between feelings of horror, terror and compassion. I was at once deeply curious to know more and eager to turn it off and think about other things.
But something else has drifted out of the region along with the horrific headlines: a sense that Japanese culture may just change in response to this tragic series of events.
For instance, in The New York Times, Hiraki Azuma, a professor at Waseda University, wrote that he believes the Japanese will respond to this catastrophe by building a new, re-energized society, one in recovery not just from this "calamity" but from the "prolonged stagnation and despair of the last two decades."That piece and others like it made me think of Jonathan Haidt's book, "The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom." Haidt writes that adversity can actually make us stronger: "People need adversity, setback and perhaps even trauma to reach the highest levels of strength, fulfillment and personal development." In fact, he says, researchers have begun to move beyond studying how human beings cope with adversity to focus on the benefits of severe stress -- sometimes called "post-traumatic growth."
How does this work? In rising to the challenge, we reveal our hidden capabilities. This, in turn, challenges our self concept: We realize that we are much stronger than we once thought. Second, trauma opens people's hearts and minds to one another, and relationships are strengthened as a result. Third, difficulties changes our priorities and philosophies.
No one chooses to be struck by a natural disaster, and we would never wish it upon another. But when things do happen, might we -- both those in the line of fire, and those of us who are (for now) simply observers -- use them to become stronger?
Has science become too dangerous for humanity to handle? Is it a Frankenstein or a Bhasmasur, a demon in Hindu mythology who could turn people to ashes by placing his palm on their head as a blessing? This question simmers constantly in debate, but bursts out into an outcry whenever some catastrophic “consequence” of science is seen. And what can be more catastrophic than the triple strike in Japan - the monster quake, triggering off a monster tsunami which among other things triggered off the ongoing nuclear meltdown in Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.
One clarification: its not really science but technology – the application of science for a purpose – that is being talked about. It’s an important difference.
So, is technology becoming too dangerous? The answers are complex and lengthily debatable. But here are a few thoughts.
Technology is created and circulated for a purpose. The safety pin, the ball pen, or reading glasses are products of technology as much as nuclear reactors and spaceships. So, the real question is who is creating and using it, and why?
Let’s look at two disasters: the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year and the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Why did they happen? There are two reasons: the gigantic, limitless compulsions of a consumerist society for more and more energy (oil, electricity); and the greed of those wielding the technologies which fulfil this need (BP, Tepco).
BP tried to save money on safety procedures and systems, hurried through protocols bribed regulators and ended up spilling 4.9 million barrels of crude oil over 11000 sq.kms of sea, the ghastly effects of which will last for years. Tepco, the Japanese power company has a record of falsifying repair work going back to 1985, it built one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world with 4986 MW capacity directly overlooking one of the most dangerous earthquake (and tsunami) prone zones in the world - the Fukushima plant – and put the crucial diesel sets in a bunker because elevating them would probably have meant more expenditure. It saved money by protecting against a 6.5 meter tidal wave – the March 11 wave was 10 meters.
All this is fine, you might say. These are rogue companies at worst, or naïve at best. Why blame consumerism?
Because, were it not for this blind race to consume more and more, such companies would not exist at all. Again, take the energy sector. The world is inching towards finishing off coal and petroleum. This has led to runaway global warming that may destroy human civilization. But nobody cares – the frontiers of technology are being pushed not to find solutions and make amends, but to develop deep sea drilling and creating more nuclear plants that are run by similar profit-seeking companies.
Another example is the global armament industry which is worth $1.5 trillion in 2009. Governments can be overthrown and wars started to protect this industry, which is a crucible for latest technologies.
It’s not science that is to blame, it is the conversion of technology to maximize profits at the cost of humanity (and its future) that is wrong
An inescapable and sobering thought that comes to mind in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, is that it happened in the most developed and most technologically advanced nation in the world. Neither earthquake nor tsunami is new to Japan. The Buddhist nation has perfected science so well to minimize the impact of adversities on human comfort.
Yet, the best wasn’t good enough. This leads us to the inevitable question: is there a limit to human excellence? Science and technology in many ways is seen as the redeeming facet of human existence that offers deliverance from the shackles ignorance. But is it infallible?
Eons ago, we didn’t know even a fraction of what we know now. We worshipped the Sun, the Moon and the Sea. We feared natural calamities: the likes of the disasters that shook Japan. Worship stemmed out of fear. Fear stemmed out of ignorance. Indeed ignorant, we were. And ever since the time of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, it has been a relentless quest for answers.
When we use superlatives like “the most advanced” and “the most developed”, are we also implying that the quest for answers has ended? Japan is a country that’s in the news mostly for good reasons. A daily routine that runs with clock-work precision. Haven’t we all heard tales of how we can set our watch by the arrival of the train? Hard-working and peaceful people. No communal disputes. No fight over languages. No strikes. No violence. No questions, and therefore no answers.
If at all there’s one question, it’s this: Why Japan is so politically unstable? A Japanese prime minister lasts in office for not more than three years on an average. But few care for an answer, since political instability hardly impacts human lifestyle there.
But last week’s twin disaster – resulting in massive damage to the nuclear reactors in Fukushima -- has been a rude shock. Japan’s PM said this was the worst crisis facing the nation since the World War II. When Japan was flattened to smithereens by atomic bombs, many questions were asked, which triggered a quest for answers. Did Japan provoke the US so much as to deserve the atom bombs? Post-1945, a new Japan rose, with vengeance, like a phoenix.
The wheel seems to have turned a full circle. There’s now a fear of massive radioactive contamination. And along with it is the untold misery of hundreds of thousands of people who have been forced to spend seemingly endless days and nights in rescue shelters.
It’s time for questions, again; and the quest for answers has begun. What went wrong, and why? Why did the system that famously works best, fail? Were too many things taken for granted? It’s said that the reactors were modelled on the old design. When newer designs are better guarded against disasters, why no upgradation was done?
There’s never an end to the quest for answers. Not even for Japan.
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