Immediately, we called Lee, who called Boo, the maintenance guy, and within 5 minutes he arrived by motorcycle, tools in hand to shut off the water after there was over 2″, 5 cm, of water on the bathroom floor which luckily had a drain in the floor. Tom had grabbed the travel scale off the bathroom floor before it was ruined.

Now, as I write here, a plumber has arrived and is in the process of repairing the broken water line while a few of the cleaners followed behind to clean up the mess when he’s done.

In the realm of things, this minor incident, responded to quickly, reminded us of the insignificance of our rapidly spewing water when people all over the world are suffering in recent flooding from storms. 

As quickly as the water flooded the bathroom floor, we could barely imagine the horror of the residents in many parts of the world where fast flowing water has caused such devastation and loss of lives.

It’s hard to grasp the magnitude of the horror experienced in many parts of the world including the horrific flooding and loss of life in Louisiana in the US with 1000s of residents living in shelters after their homes were destroyed by fast moving water as a result of relentless storms.

For today’s news on this storm and others, please click here.

Are natural disasters on the rise? Or, are we hearing about them more due to 24 hour news cycles from around the globe having become more readily broadcast over these past three decades?

Its hard to say. When attempting to research this topic, “Are natural disasters on the rise?” one will find thousands of varying “opinions” on the topic from a wide array of “news” related sources and agencies. 

This morning as I researched this topic (which I’ve done before) I was shocked by how statistics are skewed based on the intent of the source of information. What are we to believe?

I supposed its not unlike other “theories” in today’s world. Everyone has an opinion they’d like to express and would like to be revered for their views. In reality, if the focus stayed on providing relief and support to the victims of natural disasters and finding solutions to lessen the impact in future events, the sensationalism in the news could be lessened.

That won’t ever happen. As the news escalates to entice and titillate the public to read and watch more and more, we often get the perception that the world is on its way to total collapse as a result of natural disasters, let alone the effects of human intervention, wars and disharmony.

But, what do I know? Whom am I to speculate? I can only observe, pray for the future and hope along with the rest of us, that our planet is here to stay. 

With news of meteorites heading our way, black holes gobbling up our planet, and gloom and doom for the future, our little lives become insignificant and meaningless.

What can we do in the interim, if anything? Oh, I’d like to say if we all treated one another with love and kindness, an altruist view and subsequent behavior could change the world. 

But, we’re past the ability to do that on a worldwide scope. We can only do it within the small framework in which we live. And perhaps, those bite sized pieces can eventually unblur the lines and we can see beyond our often narrow views of what’s right and what’s wrong.

We can’t live in fear. Fear has the ability to incite anger and dangerous behavior. Exercising caution, sensible reactions and thoughtful personal introspection are some of the tools we’ve been provided as humans. If only we all could use these tools to make the world a safer and better place.

In the interim, us two grains of sands on the vast beach of Life, attempt to keep everything in perspective, a broken pipe, a small household flood, a recovery from an injury, in the realm of things, it’s but a minor inconvenience. 

We remain grateful for the gifts bestowed upon us as we continue on our path of experience and knowledge, as we pray for the well-being of those suffering in the world.

Photo from one year ago today, August 18, 2015:

One year ago we walked into this park for awhile eventually turning back when we realized the trails weren’t as suitable for walking as opposed to use by fast moving mountain bikers. Ironically, in our post one year ago today, we mentioned bombings in Thailand. Please see here for details.