Good morning, friends. A reprint from 'The Little Rock Gazette,' repeats the first printed version of an already old (1882) phrase, ‘hell and high water’: "Since dat time de best ob my friends hab become enemies, an' strangers hab become friends. De debil had brook loose in many parts ob de country, an' keepin' up wid de ole sayin', we've had unrevised hell and high water - an'a mighty heap ob high-water I tell yer."
I was not asleep very long before Amazon Sage dream travelled into the heart of Japan’s broken streets and shattered landscape looking for an old family friend we call Kazu. There she quickly discovered what true suffering looks like. If having an earthquake, a tsunami, more than one nuclear meltdown, and an active volcano spewing ash into the air, doesn’t make the people of Japan feel as though they are caught between hell and high water, nothing else will. One Japanese woman even remarked: “ I have lost everything but I have my life... and I am not sure that’s a good thing.”
Yet, the people of Japan are strong. In their measured responses to these horrific personal and national tragedies, we see models for how we might all behave when faced with multiple crises. We witness good people taking one step after another, waiting in food lines, without resorting to panic, malice, or wanton destruction. It’s as though the Japanese people have decided, come hell or high water, they will continue to act with the dignity that is forever woven into the fabric of their rich culture.
For the doomsayers, it is important to remember that the compilation of Japan’s catastrophes is very likely a chain reaction from the original tectonic event. After all, if it was strong enough to literally move our earth a bit on its axis, there’s no reason to believe it could not also enliven a volcano and destabilize nuclear power plants. Yet, being human, many of us cannot help but wonder if this is not some cosmic joke or karmic pay-back for our human foolishness with our precious planet.
If we assume for a moment that such is the case, then we must ask, “Are we, (earth’s people), moved enough to do something about it?” No matter how noble; no matter how strong, it is clear that in the days to come, the people of Japan; these mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, our close friends... need our support. Money always helps for supplies or clothing; after all, the survivors of the tsunami lost everything. But when money is not easily available, our prayers and love can go a very long way.
We are all one... and like the cowpokes of the old west, our human legacy is to keep driving our ‘horn-spiked masses through high water and through the continuous hell in between’ until we’ve completed our work. Time to wake up, my friends, and decide how we will make a difference. And by the way, Kazu, if you are able, please send a sign, okay? Head ‘em up, move ‘em out!
