We seek the path of least resistance until we realize that path leads to oblivion.
So much of life is driven by the instinctive need for comfort. It is our human nature to seek safety and comfort. Unfortunately, we may find it necessary to leave our comfort to seek safety, and that is very hard to do since comfort always masks itself as safety.
Nothing shouts the triumph of man over nature more than our celebrating of technology. There was a time when we celebrated in awe, and often in terror, the natural wonders of nature. Now, when nature and technology share the same place, technology wears the crown.
In the days of sailing ships, we cooperated with nature to function. Now we celebrate the behemoths that sail the seas with their complete self-containment to survive on their own. Humans simply have to pull the right levers or hit the right switch. You can find similar examples everywhere you look.
Do not construe this as a tirade against technology - it is not. Technology is making the world a better place. The problem is our human need for excess. We cannot seem to help ourselves.
That is why we need reminders – a Mount St. Helena, a tidal wave that we cannot stop or control, or a river that runs wild. And the greatest irony of them all, and perhaps the most disastrous, a human being that can defeat technology by stupidity.
The question is, do we learn - probably not. We have been given everything except the ability to control our arrogance.
Brother Giovanni, musing from Pizzaonia on the passing American scene.
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