Parannoyed Delusions

The tsunami was unquestionably a 100% geological natural disaster. Unlike global warming which would inevitably trace back to our own species, the tsunami was not in any means man made. However so, it came shockingly unexampled and unprecedented. What does this mean? Or is there any meaning at all? Along with it's superseding, albeit destructive waves, the tsunami left a far more lasting effect. An effect which I think is more inconspicuous but far important than the obvious devestation. I think the tsunami left a message for humankind. The message is either: "It's the end of the world", or "The world is going to change". But however, this message is rather more metaphoric and symbolic in nature.

"It's the end of the world"—Let's see. First there's George Bush and his Iraq; almost 2 years after the occupation there has been a minimum of 15,229 deaths, and it's only getting worse. Then there was the SARS outbreak, and now the Avian influenza. And don't forget about poor old Africa, millions still die of AIDS, poverty and hunger there (well, not just Africa, most other parts of the world as well). The world seems to be going down in a spiral of death, destruction and calamity. And then to top it all off, a giant Ritcher 9 earthquake followed by a tsunami. It's almost like Mother Earth is saying, "that's right people, you're all absolutely correct, the end of the world's near. Rock and roll baby!" But you see, it's all metaphoric. It's not really the end of the world. It's only how you see it. The tsunami gave all these prior disasters a concrete and far reaching confirmation: forget all of these smaller insignificant calamities, in the hands of God, we're all really doomed anyway.

But that's just one way of seeing it.

"The world is going to change"—Because of the tsunami, somehow and some way, in the midst of searching for tsunami info, I stumbled upon these sites: worldchanging.com, makepovertyhistory.org, youthXchange.net, and some others I forgot and did not bookmark. And because of these sites, I started to revisit these ones as well: thehungersite.com, Turning the Tide. These sites has nothing to do with the tsunami. They deal with issues like climate change, sustainable development, sustainable living, eradicating poverty, raising world literacy levels, finding cures for AIDS, cancer and etc. They're talking about changing the world. I began reading and learning about all this just because a big tsunami hit 9 countries and I wanted more info. And it's not just me, because of the tsunami, countries around the world is coming together in conferences to not just discuss relief efforts, but to go further than that. I think people quite sincerely believe now, after seeing what the world can do for these 9 or so countries, that we all can do much more together. Yes, I'm talking about changing the world. And no, I'm not saying that it's because of the tsunami. Remember, it's all metaphoric. I'm saying that all these smaller, seemingly little efforts in truly changing the world for the better, that has been going even before the tsunami... was given a resounding confirmation, which is; in the face of God, we all truly can do it.

So there it is. We have two choices, two delusions, two kinks for us choose to believe in. So go ahead and choose yours. I know I've chosen mine. But whatever it is, you can only pick one.