Abruzzo Quake Reminds us of our Fragility

Earthquakes are common on planet earth but in the age of abundant internet videos & photos, experiencing these tragedies can aquire a deeper meaning: the web brings people living far away much closer to places and events that are quite distant in reality. As images and news arrived from Italy’s Abruzzo region with over 200 deaths and thousands wounded and homeless, we can almost experience the sadness and awe at the destruction. Crumbled brick buildings remind us of the power of nature always changing through shiting tectonic plates or evolving ecosystems. More powerfully, hands and bodies buried in the rubble remind us that life like earth itself is precious and yet fragile. It takes often tragedies to awaken our minds from the narrow focus of our daily lives and to be reminded that life should be treasured every day. As these images fade in memory unfortunately so does our appreciation for how quickly it could all end and for the simple great things that life offers every day: from the smile of a child to a sunset that fades into a distant and yet stunning horizon line.