Last week I was planning to write an article about the supermoon on March 19. In fact, earlier last week I had emailed a group of my friends about it because I had read about the supermoon in a newspaper article. In the article, it mentioned that the last supermoon was in December 2004, and two weeks before that particular supermoon the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami happened.
I thought the upcoming supermoon would make for an interesting article because there were astrologers indicating possible natural disasters, while scientists were saying that there was no correlation between the supermoon and earthquakes/tsunamis. So it would have been interesting to see if similar events would repeat themselves regardless of scientific opinion. And then the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan happened and suddenly the article felt inappropriate considering the circumstances.
As a victim of Typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana), I can empathize with the Japanese survivors who are undergoing hardships right now. I know how it feels to wake up expecting a normal day only to have everything change in an instant, practically losing everything, fleeing for your life and not knowing if you will see another morning. Of course, the Japanese people are facing a situation much worse, with radiation worries to add to the pot.
One of the things going for the Japanese is the foresight of their government in terms of earthquake resistant infrastructure and disaster preparedness. The Japanese government is also quite efficient so that aid efforts are proceeding as fast as humanly possible. It is also a credit to the Japanese people that there have been no reports of looting or rioting despite the obvious shortages of food, water and other essentials.
The Japanese were probably the most prepared in the world for a disaster like what happened last March 11. But the scale of destruction only underscores the fact that even the most elaborate preparations can only go so far. Nevertheless, some preparation is better than none at all.
If you are an average income earner, your preparations will be far from the "ideal" level of preparedness (which can cost at least a few hundred thousand pesos if you want to cover all possible scenarios for you and your family). Depending on how much you can spend, you will probably just have a couple of the basics and hope it will be enough for you to adapt. Documented disasters provide an idea of which essentials one will most likely need, but if you want to be more organized, you can visit the website of 72 Hours. It's a disaster-preparedness site for the city of San Francisco, but the tips are applicable anywhere.
But beyond these immediate preparations, I believe there are deeper questions that one should be asking:
1. Are you prepared to die? With all these Earth changes, no one knows what exactly will happen in the next few days, weeks or months.
Unexpectedly facing death has the tendency to drastically change one's perceptions of what is important and what is not. Suddenly, being the #1 PVP player in Medal of Honor doesn't seem that important. Nor are the number of cars in your garage. Or the other bragging rights you slaved over to acquire (perhaps stepping on other peoples' toes in the process).
Before that point comes, you need to assess if you've focused your life on the right things, and can leave with no regrets. I'd like to illustrate this point with an exercise one of my Theology teachers gave us back in college. I know dogma finds little favor nowadays, but the question posed is interesting.
My teacher asked the class, "If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do differently?" Some of my classmates said they'd forgive whoever it was they were angry at, or ask forgiveness from those they had hurt. Others said they'd eat at their favorite restaurant, or go to that vacation place they've always wanted to go to. The common theme was that of tying up loose ends.
Our teacher then relates an anecdote that the same question was once posed to a Jesuit priest, I forgot who. The priest was playing billiards at the time when someone asked him what he would do if he found out he was going to die tomorrow. The priest shrugged and replied, "Keep playing billiards."
The moral of the story was that the priest didn't have any loose ends to tie up, so he could go any time without regrets. Easier said than done, of course, but I hope you can see the point of the story.
We all have different ideas of what is worthwhile in life or not, but in the end it's important that we can go with as clear a conscience as possible.
2. Are you ready to survive? Not everyone is able to make adjustments to sudden changes in life circumstances. We often identify ourselves so closely with one thing or another that the loss of that thing causes us shock or depression.
Some people are so identified with their work that losing the job makes them feel worthless. Same thing with hobbies or other things or objects we associate with showing people who we are. The phrase "It's who I am!" is a common theme here. And yet these are all temporary things that any big enough natural disaster can take away in the blink of an eye.
Many people forget that adaptability is one of the defining traits of being human. Also, many people forget that they are souls undergoing physical incarnation, and in the process they forget to enrich the one thing that transcends physical death. This is also what makes some people more vulnerable to changes in physical circumstances.
In this instance, the Soul Affirmation as introduced by Master Choa Kok Sui would be very helpful in reminding oneself of what is important and permanent. The affirmation is as follows:
I am not the body;
I am not the emotions;
I am not the thoughts;
I am not the mind;
The mind is only a subtle instrument of the soul.
I am the Soul.
I am a spiritual being of Divine Intelligence, Divine Love, Divine Power;
I am one with my Higher Soul;
I AM THAT I AM.
I am one with the Divine Spark within me.
I am a child of God,
I am connected with God;
I am one with God;
I am one with all.
We need not wait for a disaster in order to introduce right thought, right speech and right action into our lives.
When the earthquake hit Japan, China extended its sympathies and even sent a rescue team. This is in contrast with its usual anti-Japanese stance and rhetoric. Why wait for a disaster to show sympathy? Imagine if the level of cooperation, sympathy and compassion all nations are showing Japan right now was the normal state of relations between nations and individuals. It would be heaven on Earth. And isn't that something worthy of effort?
Preparedness isn't something that you do in expectation of some future event. Preparedness is a state of being that exists beyond space and time. If you study the two previous questions closely, you will get a clearer idea of what I mean.
