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Everyone in the media, everyone in the world, this week is quite rightly talking about the seemingly countless deaths that the earthquake and tsunami have caused in South Asia.

Senseless deaths, they’re called. Tragic deaths. Terrible deaths.

I remember decades ago, as a young lad in Sunday school in Italy, asking the teacher, who had just finished lecturing his charges about the terrible cost in lives of the then recently concluded Second World War, “If when we die we go to heaven, why is death a bad thing?”

He didn’t answer me then, and he hasn’t answered me since.

To be sure, it’s easy for me to wonder these things, ensconced as I am, safely, comfortably, securely in the Maine woods. I’d see it differently, very differently, if I were living in Indonesia or Sumatra or Sri Lanka tonight. Yes, I know that. But, still, what’s true is true. And as seekers, however uncomfortable it makes us, we have to struggle with these questions.

This following paragraph in quotes is an email that some boating friends wrote from Phuket Island, which is on the southeast coast of Thailand. This email was sent shortly after the earthquake and tsunamis hit the south of Asia and India. Chappie is the name of their boat.


"Thank you for your concern guys, we are luckily safe and well, and Chappie is safe and sound. We had visitors for Xmas from Aus, and we had the boat in a small marina at the north of the Phuket Island so that we could have Xmas dinner with them in a small restaurant nearby. We are in the channel that runs between the island and the mainland, and the wave had to pass over a bar before entering the channel and at this point the channel widens significantly which allowed the wave to dissipate somewhat. The water literally sucked in and out of this channel all day with the run of the current and tide changing about every 30 minutes. The water got very high but fortunately not high enough to go over the pylons in the marina, or we would have been in real trouble. Had we not had visitors we know exactly where we would have been and the story's end would have been very different. WE thank God that we were so lucky. The first we knew of the wave was when we noticed the water roaring past the boat and a girl running down the marina telling us that a tidal wave had hit the west coast and 150 were dead. "Prepare for the worst" she yelled..........Lloyd and I just looked at each other and decided that this little tin can that we live in could sink, but we were not going to be on it.........we grabbed our passports etc and headed for the shore............We spent the day watching the current and tide do the strangest things. I suspect we will never see the likes of it again in our lifetime. WE hope we never do anyway!! Its been a reality check for us.........how lucky we are!! Very few boats were damaged on Phuket Island so the cruising folk got off very lightly. Many fishing boats and small pleasure boats were destroyed. In Malaysia a couple hundred miles south of here, they were not so fortunate and two of the three marinas were totally lost. Boats damaged, but as far as we know, none were sank, but I am unsure of that at this point. As for the loss of life, well you've no doubt seen and heard more then we have. The beaches on the western side of the island were completely destroyed, but the rest of the island continues to function, as much as is possible after something like this occurs. The Thais are very resilient and rebuilding is already commenced. We wanted to visit Sri Lanka, Maldives and perhaps the Andamans again this year, but even if it were possible I don't think we could be comfortable sitting on our yachts in their harbours when they have lost so much, it just doesn't sit well. We will rethink our plans now, perhaps just going straight to Chagos Archipelago instead...........who knows."

Her words reality check make me ask myself why does it take a catastrophe, sickness, or other extraordinary event in life to help one see who we are in "reality"? Is this how the One, God, (Mother, Love or whatever we choose to call the spiritual energy that unites all) wants to exist on earth without judging, labeling, or being attached to any painful or pleasurable event, no matter the size, from moment to moment?

A couple of days ago, I posted a note from Thailand as a Guest because I forgot that I had to log in. I'm Bhakti and appreciate this forum and the Zoofence and the wonders for the heart and mind to absorb. Thank you. Bhakti