Love, from Katrina

August 2005

The images of Katrina's visit to the United States southern shore are staggering. The power of nature is infinite. Yet, the same energy in Katrina is in us. So, our energy is also infinite.

The energy manifests itself in countless ways in our world, on this planet, constantly. The results of such manifestations are many, but they are not inherently good or bad.

From the perspective of the Universe, Katrina was simply an energy form that had effects on our planet. We are the same; we have staggering effects on our planet. And the consequences of this energy on the particular area known as the Gulfcoast, including New Orleans, are vast and continuing.

Nature created an alluvial delta there. It flooded and receded from its river source. Wetlands and swamps resulted. Man straightened the river and in numerous ways eradicated the vast wetlands. Man populated and polluted the river and the delta. Katrina came along and changed much of what man had done. Many people have died and the particular lives of millions have now changed. None of this is good or bad; it just is.

Was it a good idea to change the topography for economic gain and human activity? We do live here; we must do what we have to do. Might we do what we do with less adverse effect on the planet we inhabit? Certainly. We are all here together - man, rivers, the fish in the sea, and Katrina, everything we see. Could we strive for more harmony, given our common short existence? Yes, of course.

While the images of Katrina's effects on man and his things are sad and horrifying, and we do mourn our losses, I believe there is another perspective.

We of the energy on this planet can learn to see our commonality and interrelatedness. This connectedness is love, in its broadest truest sense. When we separate because of fear, we do not take advantage of this love. We see the separation clearly in the images of Katrina's wake, not only in terms of human misery (which is fear based), but also how our activities have separated us from what Nature provided in that alluvial system.

We can use these images to drive home the fact that we are all here doing the same thing, and we should not be fighting and killing and afraid of one another. We can have peace and love, and in this way, knowing Katrina can help us have additional insights into the love of the energy that unites us.