Resilience

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Every now and then we keep discovering new civilizations of our past and we keep trying to assimilate the lifestyle and culture of a long lost era of our ancestors.  There is a definite time and place to the attitude to life at that given time.  The times and technology might continue to evolve and change, but the human resilience will remain adept to change with the times and continue to survive, prosper and most times be more successful with each event.  Sometimes life’s challenges, and at times in need, things are constant in change and human beings always are finding ways to survive and prosper.

The ability to be strong, healthy and/or successful after something bad happens, the ability to come back stronger after being knocked down by life; resilience.  It is our ability as human beings to find a way to succeed, and the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats and/or significant sources of stress related to family, friends, relationships, work place and financial issues; and being resilient to bounce back from any and all difficult human circumstances.

Along with ending the WW II (1945) we have had many instances of destruction and devastation caused by man, the big ones include after dropping the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the nuclear plat meltdown in Chernobyl, being disastrous definitive examples of mankind’s ability to self-destruct with or without intent.  We know how to unleash power/s that we can’t control, and nuclear bomb is one such power.  The N Bomb can destroy beyond anyone’s imagination, and there is no plausible way to create a resilient society after the N Bomb.  We have only invented destruction that is irreversible.  The discovery of utility of nuclear energy has its benefits, but no one has yet to find a way to harness it without the consequences of irreversible damage to the environment, even in instances where it is used for peaceful purposes.  The irony is harnessing the sun and wind energy is much more practical and without the devastation, and much cheaper than the nuclear energy, and we have yet to jump into utilizing the free resources that are available to all of us on Earth.

After all these years (since 1945), Hiroshima which has very few survivors from the N Bomb attack, the impact on the city and its surroundings are still fresh.  The nature doesn’t have the ability to heal nuclear explosion.  In case of Chernobyl, the nuclear accident was unavoidable and manmade.  It is a classic case of human inability to harness the power that we really can’t manage in a controlled environment.  Similar accident in Japan’s nuclear reactor happened because of a Tsunami, and with the same results.  Today we look Chernobyl, completely desolate, still uninhabitable and a beautiful ghost town.

This past week President Obama visited Hiroshima.  It is a good gesture to pay respect to history and remember the devastation which was caused because of war, but the scars of the N Bomb remain, and will perhaps be forever.

There are many example of manmade and unimaginable destruction.  The lessons of history never seem to be learnt by humans, as we continue to find new ways to destroy.  We also see the nature and humans together are resilient after the devastation and destruction.  Luckily for humans, nature is really quite adept to resilience.

We continue the massive destruction in the ME, and no one really knows if anything is left behind in the devastation.  What we see is killings and loss of civilization; today’s and our past.

While it is true that natural disasters cause huge losses, we do get forwarding on the intensity of nature and have ample warning to get away from its path.  Typically natural disasters allow for rebuilding and regrowth, which is the beauty of the planet helping to rebuild self.  We most times rebuild with better infrastructure and facilities and try to prevent future natural disasters.  We reinvent ourselves in how we forecast and foresee the natural events, and build our life to best avoid the same situations.  We however can’t fathom planning for killing, bombing, attacking, terrorizing or abusing each other.  Man against man violence is simply act of barbarism that can’t foster resilience.

While humans are resilient in facing adversity, there is only so much nature can help in our survival.  It is entirely up to us to keep the earth habitable for generations after us.  Only the last 100 years our life on earth has been plagued with so much devastation and destruction, we have taken actions that have decimated hundreds of thousands of years of natural resilience.  If we continue to act the way we have in the last 100 years, there is little hope for the good earth as we know it.  It is time to reflect on who we are, and how precious earth is and life is, and it is time to reflect rather than be resilient.