It was quite a weird thing. I was staring at my newly developing ginger plant. It started just as this tiny bump on a piece of ginger I bought from the grocery store. It lay around for a while, then I plunked it into a big pot with some potting soil, watered it, and went off to do other things.
Every now and again I'd take a cursory look at the unresponsive surface of the pot. And one day, sure enough, a little reddish point appeared above the surface. It had started to grow. Now we're starting on a second leaf! And there's an incredibly strong stem that develops faster and stronger each day. So now I spend fascinated time really looking at this amazing structure of nature that will feed me one of these days.
Nepal - Ginger?
Yesterday I realized that the recent tragedy in Nepal and my ginger plant have much in common.
The earth around them becomes seriously disrupted when and where they are growing and living, one by earthquakes, the other through development of fat rhizomes.
Some thoughts about Nepal
For many, the answer to that question is "yes." Many unspeakably awful, mass events of incredible pain and terrible distress are happening in Africa, Nepal and other parts of the world as you read this. And unless you happen to be there, or close by, it seems to be somewhat easy to just dismiss them with a sad shake of your head, and a momentary feeling of sadness.
As you eat your nice food, enjoy all your labor saving devices, breathe clean air, talk to friends on Skype, and take your good circumstances for granted, it's really hard to remember those who are less fortunate, especially if you don't know them. It's when you do know someone who is going through the horror of it all that it really comes home to you.
Vinaya Ghimire, I want you to know you've been in my thoughts since hearing this news.
It doesn't really touch us, this pain, because it's really not possible to comprehend the circumstances other unfortunate people have to deal with. You hear about dreadful things instantly, these days. Unlike days before the Internet, there are swift, graphic pictures that go round the planet instantly, and we are shocked, but it's just too hard to contemplate that it could happen to you. Is it arrogance or denial within our human psyche, I wonder? A Himalayan mountain climber videoed the collapse of a sheer rock face above him, onto him and others during the tragic recent event of a huge earthquake in Nepal.
Later he was interviewed, bloody but quite normal and calm about the whole thing. Reports since then about the terrible situation in Nepal keep coming in, first the sheer enormity of the situation, then the shock, the deaths, the injured, the body counts.
Underground movements
There's still a lot going on underground; all over the world, the earth moves and shifts constantly. Just like my ginger plant is developing those rhizomes that will eventually crowd it's space, so those continental tectonic plates keep crowding theirs too, and must be released.
Nepal will return to its former glory with lots of hard work by its citizens. The shining light, the really good news, is how some beautiful young girls are stepping up to care for their people. This is a powerful and lovely story.
Nepalese Girls Cook For, Provide First Aid To Thousands Of Earthquake Survivors
Pay it forward
I send my sincere thoughts, condolences and best wishes, also a little Red Cross donation to the people of Nepal. If you can, please do the same.
Before you go...
- Shazam - Betrayed! By Kenneth Avery via WarnerWords
- Coming Full Circle via marcoujor's musings
- Farmacopeia: Wheatgrass, the plant version of a U.S. Marine! ☺ via flashPress
Thank you for your visit today and wishing you a safe and beautiful weekend,
Vicki