Atlas Shrugged One Day..

In Chinese, when an earth quake happens, we say something equivalent to "Atlas shrugged!" but we call Atlas the "Land Cow" (地牛), and we say "That bovine don' roll'd over" and we have southern accents. Today (2011, March 11) Japan had an earth quake of 8.9 on the Richter Scale. The epicenter, I just read online at http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/3/20110311230401391-112300.html, was right off the coast Japan's belly. But consider this: As of 9:40pm, there are only a recorded 104 deaths, 200 missing, and 244 injured. 448 people. I guess thank god and technology, in 1923 the Kanto plains were hit, and there were deaths over 100,000 people.

Humanity has come a "long" way. With our recognized 2000, and some odd years of total civilization. We pride ourselves with neglect of the pink, bald apes that we are. I don't think the majority of us can even fathom just how uniquely, and single handedly -as a species- we have made an impact. We take for granted our cities, our urban life styles, our concrete and numerous alloys. We are the only mammal I know of that enjoys living like insects. Crawling and rushing from A to B. Skipping over the long forgotten infinity, which is so neatly tucked in between the two. We take for granted our numeric system, our base-10. Our algebra (or where the word originally came from), and our jazz. We have to brandish popularity. Perspectives that speak to the lowest of common denominators. We neglect the rhythm of the earth beneath our feet, and that that rhythm is influenced by all the vibration around it. From the swing of the universe and vacuum that it is, to the smallest, scrawniest worm, wiggling in the equivalent darkness. There are no two finger prints alike, no two creatures with the same DNA, no two individuals with the same smell, but doesn't the universe still repeat itself?

In the most famous of Chinese philosophies, (The Zhou Yi, or Yi Jing) an astounding observation was made. This is a fact, and not an idea; As long as a person lives, then they posses all the energy required to change. It works harmoniously with "If there's a will, then there's a way." But it goes deeper yet; The will might not even be one that is heard by you. It might be taken for granted, just as so many other things are. But the will is there, because you are alive. You needn't to "unleash" it, but merely exercise it's way. Flip a switch when you leave the house. Turn off extensions on the socket. Don't waste water. Ride a bicycle, or better yet, WALK. Get some sun to remind yourself how much it means to you and the life you share. Quit smoking. Drink only when in a joyous occasion; Dance when you are not, or don't bother being shy of being a goof. If you can make yourself laugh, then that's enough. Revere your land, but not under a banner and the name of a nation, or by the color of the skin of those who inhabit it. But rather, the common sound, maybe, that all piss on water will make. Spend some time of your day just listening to someone, you don't always have to have something to say. You don't even need to give advice, just listen, become an object of relief. Relieve yourself.

As you all may know, Taiwan is an island. You can fit about two of them, and a lot of Rhode Islands to spare in the state of Colorado. We have a population of approximately 23,321,300. And we make all your electronics, Apples in particular. Yet somehow, we are the second most when it comes to over all climate change. It's almost mid March. I've been here for almost three months, and I've seen the sun in consecutive days, less than five times. It feels like winter, hell it is winter. On average, every year our summers get hotter by 1 degree Celsius, and our winters colder by the same degree. I wonder sometimes, if Taiwan will become Euripides' Medea metaphor those scholars so suggest. I wonder if Formosa will slaughter her children and go into the blazing wind of the night on the tails of golden dragons as we drown in fire and burn in steam. They say approximately 500 years from now and Taipei will return to the swamp it was. The only two places that I've lived in have been swamps. Taipei, New Orleans. Repeat. Repeat. I don't know much, but I do know, the good ol' Gaia, daughter of Chaos, has been 'round much longer than we ever will. Will we change? Well, the dinosaurs went away with a 'poof' didn't they?