Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A Rare Combination of Circumstances

I have heard that during a storm at sea, when the waves get up to fifty or seventy feet high, there’s a sound, almost like music, that breaks through the loud crashing, like someone slamming their hands down on a church organ over and over and over. I don’t know why but this terrifies me. It terrifies me, but I also think it’s beautiful.

Maybe it’s that there can be something recognizable during something so completely out of control. Maybe it’s a pairing of something un-natural with something natural. I don’t know why this is called a “perfect” storm but maybe there is, in fact, something perfect about a rare combination of circumstances.

When Mo went to Africa, she lived with a small group of fifteen orphans in a tiny village it took almost a full day of air travel and roadless navigating to get to. She had to get 16 shots and vaccinations just so she could survive for a year without contracting malaria, ebola, parasites and other diseases. And for the first time in her life she was completely on her on. It terrified me. But I also thought it was beautiful.

I’m not sure you can teach a person how to have a successful and exciting and fulfilling life. You just have to be in the right place at the right time.

3 comments:

  1. Although I like to try, I don’t think perfection is ours to fully experience. There many sides to this, but having played with nature a bit I’d venture to say that the most sublime and perfect things on earth usually try to kill us. Be it a cliff, a storm, a cancer or a polar bear. It’s all in our contract, and it comforts me to think how little control we have over it. Thanks for the picture btw :)

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  2. Yes, you're right. And you're welcome, that picture is my favorite.

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  3. Is that Mo? She looks like you so much. This is so awesome.

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