Humans, Nature and Human Nature

Thus does man, in every age, vindicate, consciously or unconsciously, his celestial birthright. Thus does Nature hold on her wondrous, unquestionable course; and all our systems and theories are but so many froth-eddies or sandbanks, which from time to time she casts up, and washes away.
Thomas Carlyle, 1829.

Tsunami came fifteen months ago. So many things happened and the effects are still felt. What I was drawn to was the psychological effect it has on those who live by the sea. New houses built, new colonies formed, new boats made, new technologies brought and new life has begun.

But even the most experienced fisherfolk or rather only the most experienced fisherfolk are the ones who got affected the most. An eighty year old man said in an interview that the mother ocean 'betrayed' him. He thought he knew everything about the ocean and his eighty years of life made meaningless in few hours of her action. His status, position, self-confidence and his purpose in life smashed in one swift stroke.

Even today some sensational newspaper talks vaguely of some crank predicting a tsunami, the crowd becomes half or less in the beach near our house. Alcoholism and addiction with a sense of fatalism is rampant. They all have a major 'reason' that no one knows what will happen tomorrow. So there is fear, hopelessness, inadequacy.

What does it all mean? Human frailty or truly enigmatic nature. Do we feel more despondent and more helpless because we feel all powerful and suddenly realise it is not so? Is it because we are not very realistic in our views about nature and us? Is it because we seek to conquer more than try to understand?

For those interested, here is the full essay of Carlyle, Signs of Times.