Gustav and others
Britons told to leave New OrleansBBC News Headline
Well, technically, yes. But I rather think everyone has been advised to leave New Orleans, what with that big windy-blow Hurricane Gustav thingummy heading in that direction; the BBC’s headline would seem to imply that everyone else can stay…
It’s one of those things: when viewed from a safe distance, I can’t help but simply watch in awe the sheer power of the natural world when disaster unfolds: the awful force of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami wreaking so much devastation and destruction across such a wide area; the force of a volcanic eruption or the inexorable march of the molten lava down the hillsides, incinerating everything in its path; the force of a hurricane throwing objects around like toys; driving forward walls of water and so on.
There is a terrible beauty in the power of the natural world. That obviously doesn’t mean that I think natural disasters are a good thing — I sincerely hope everyone gets out of New Orleans safely, and I feel for the families of the 80+ people Hurricane Gustav has killed already — but I can’t help but admire the awful, raw power of the natural world.
Similarly, I was reading an article in the Observer today (thanks Caroline; I remembered to buy one and get my comedy CD!) about K2, The mountain of mountains which talked about how dangerous it was to climb, how many lives had been lost attempting to climb it recently, and that too gives me the same sort of feeling. A slight awe; a sense of inhuman beauty which is both wondrous and terrifying.
I put it down to a sense of insignificance. When you look at the outrageous forces that nature can unleash upon us, and how poorly we can stand against them (about the best we can do is to get an early warning, and get the hell out), it gives me a similar sort of feeling to that I get when staring at a choppy sea or gazing at the stars. A sense of magnitude. A sense that I am so small, so miniscule, on any grand scale — without it bringing with it a sense of insignificance.
There’s just something about nature, no matter how raw and bloody it is: I can’t help but be in awe of it. Gazing into the implacable face of the unknown. Marvellous; magnificent, and frightening. So here’s to the awful, implacable beauty of natural forces; and to hoping no-one gets hurt by them…
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The only place I’ve really witnessed that force of nature is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/2791313871/
The Grind o’ da Navir in Shetland. Basically it’s a big bit of cliff, with a massive hole smashed through by the sea. Behind where I took that photo is a huge boulder field, many weighing as much as 5 tonnes, all thrown back there by the waves.
see also
http://www.fettes.com/shetland/grind%20of%20the%20navir.htm
poeple talk about how humans are destroying the planet. you can see from things like this how insignificant we really are (especially with regards to time). we won’t destroy the planet, we will become extinct and the world will continue to turn but with other species in our place.