Garth Rattray, Contributor
AS MORE and more personal and graphic accounts of stark terror and inconsolable loss emerge from Asia's tsunami-stricken areas, the entire world shares the indescribable pain and suffering caused by the Indian Ocean earthquake.
There are many lessons for us to learn from that horrendous tragedy. As part of our disaster preparedness, we must ensure that our buildings are made to earthquake-resistant specifications; emergency personnel must be well-trained and fully-equipped; designated emergency shelters must be identified and fortified and emergency drills must be rehearsed from time to time.
Furthermore, credible post-tsunami reports coming out of South East Asia are that in areas where healthy reefs and mangroves still exist, the loss of life and property was significantly reduced.
We must therefore not allow carelessness, greed and inaction to further weaken, and in some areas, destroy our natural barriers. We must also hastily develop our south coast tourism product and bring it on par with what exists on the north, because should a tsunami strike our north coast, the tourist industry (our main source of income) will be effectively annihilated.
CATACLYSMIC EVENT
The tsunami was an unprece-dented cataclysmic event; over 150,000 people died within a few minutes. But we must not forget that every week a similar number of people in Africa suffer untold horrors and perish because of conflict.
The lesson here is that this life is exceedingly unpredictable. Our entire physical existence is like a thin and fragile thread meandering through space and time as it intersects and interacts with people, places and events. 'Death' is always (literally and metaphorically) just a breath away.
The tsunami has left some seeking after God, others second-guessing His motives, others questioning His power over evil and indeed His very existence. Some say that if He really existed, then He would have intervened and saved many innocent and young lives.
But the real problem does not lie with God; it lies with our perception of Him. God has been consistently portrayed as doting, protective, magnanimous, affable and willing to answer our most earnest prayers as He sees to our physical needs. But God is only really interested in our immortal souls. Our physical bodies belong to the earth and we only inhabit them momentarily. They are only borrowed goods to be used as temporary temples of our souls as they undergo physical experiences.
CURIOSITY
I have always believed that 'original sin' came about because of an insatiable curiosity for knowledge (of the flesh). Our subsequent physical existence subjected us to the need for food, the need to cultivate or capture that food (labour of one sort or the other), the need to procreate, and a susceptibility to emotional pain, physical pain, suffering and 'death' (of the body). It seems to me that from these exigencies and negative stimuli, other 'sins' and fear (of pain, of loss, of death) emerge. We are truly married to our bodies - "In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, better or worse, till death".
As painful as it is, there comes a time when we must all relinquish our bodies to their rightful owner, mother earth. I believe that people who claim to be atheists are de facto frustrated seekers rebelling against ignorance. But our mortal minds cannot fathom the intricate synchrony between the physical and spiritual realms.
The tsunami was truly a frightening and devastating natural disaster. The bodies of the victims may have been rendered useless, but their souls live on in eternity. For reasons unknown to us, it was their time to undergo transition (from one realm to the next).
The tsunami tragedy serves to remind us that all our belongings, indeed our very lives can, without warning, be swept away in an instant. You could suddenly find yourself standing naked before God, bereft of your body of clay, struggling to explain why you wasted time 'worshipping' mundane possessions, being proud, selfish, unkind and hateful. Prepare yourself with frequent communion with God. Remember that we are all children of the one God who loves us deeply and equally, so treat others accordingly.
Dr Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
