When there is an earthquake, we realize how helpless we are. Those are arrogant are suddenly humbled. When we are badly hit, such as those who get pinned by concrete ceilings or walls that crumbled, we suddenly become repentant. Then when we are extracted from the rubble, as soon as we could independently move around, we go again our merry ways. We forget whatever promises we made in darkness, to be more pious, more humanitarian, and not to be greedy for power, money or prestige.
But such is human history.
Now on to the most practical consideration. Seriously attend drills and learn about how to survive when the ground and buildings start shaking and the walls and window panes start creaking. Another safety measure is to avoid being in government buildings. That is, try to avoid big government buildings as much as possible, all your life. These structures, like any other infrastructure built by the government or its contractors are substandard. The builders compromise on strength or safety so they could pay the SOP or the grease money for politicians. If you don’t pay or come across, then you don’t get any contract.
Don’t they care about human lives being sacrificed? No. They just care about power and money. Everybody is expendable.
And then there is our penchant to blame everybody else except ourselves. We always forget the load of bad karma we are carrying around. Or, perhaps, the cross we have to bear.
The only way to deal with bad karma or past sins or mistakes is to suffer for these, or to repay these through social service. It might be time now to think (and do something in whatever way we can) of those who don’t have a roof over their heads while we have many roofs or layers of it, or those without shirts on their back while our lockers or cabinets are so full; or those whose tummies are empty and gurgling with strange sounds as they try to catch some sleep on the sidewalk or in some park in the middle of the night.
For it is always easy to forget the less fortunate, until we become the less fortunate ourselves—such as when we are pinned down by the rubble in darkness in the basement of a building that crumbled.
These should be everyday food for thought.**