The human impotence before natural disasters
 

The earthquake that has devastated capital of Haiti last 12th and many other tragedies that occurred because of the storms in the beginning of this year can’t be simply attributed to chance. We have learnt from the Spiritist Doctrine that chance doesn’t exist and life is causal since everything in it has a reason to be there, which is intimately related with the purpose of the world in which we live in.

The seismic disaster that affected Haiti, the severest calamity that has ever happened in 60 years of UN history, presented shocking numbers, being impressive by the quantity of families that have lost literally everything, on the top of thousands of deaths, including people from other countries, such as Brazil, who were working there.

The tragedy made us remember the earthquakes that shook Kobe, Japan, in January 1995 and India in September 1993. The quake in India deserved a touching editorial from the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, where the journalist remembered the 16 thousand deaths caused by the “fury of the indian land”, after referring to the temporality of the human species and observing with property at the end of its comment: “Natural calamities – although causing so much pain and suffering to thousands of people – at least serve to stop the infinite arrogance of humankind and remind them that, even with all technological paraphernalia they’ve developed so far, they’re nothing but finite and fragile matter”.

Certainly, despite the pain they cause, natural calamities, collective deaths and environmental disasters produce an unquestionable moral effect, once they evidence – as highlighted by the editorial mentioned above – the fragility of human beings before the forces of nature, especially those ones not caused by human will.

As we know, the trials and difficulties are able to form great individuals. The battles, vicissitudes and suffering develop qualities in the soul that can’t be found in an easy, futile or useless life. Solidarity seems to be reinforced and even more able to unite people before events of this sort. That’s the reason by which they happen.

Since Earth is a planet of trials and expiations, it becomes a place where these phenomena occur quite frequently, and will still occur for a long time, while they’re necessary to the moral progress of humankind.

In these moments of deep pain and strong commotion, no one should ignore, however, that death doesn’t annihilates the Spirit: that just sends it back to the Spiritual nation, its origin. And the spirit follows its way in one piece, given that the biological phenomenon of death doesn’t diminish or finish it. Moreover, the fact of dying in this corporeal life is something that can’t be avoided, and all of us will be subjected to it sooner or later. The fruits are, therefore, important. During theses tribulations, the moment should be for resignation given the inevitable fact, but not for fear, because the Father provides everything to each one of His children, who will receive according to their merit.

God bless the people of Haiti! And that we also play our part in the benefit of that devastated nation.