Peace, love, and all that hippie junk

". . . be cheerful, sir:
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirts and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."

- Prospero from Shakespeare's The Tempest

We hear it every day. Life is short. Carpe Diem. Don't blink. Words of admonishment from those who are older and wiser, and a little closer to the end of their journeys. I look at the devastation wrecked by Hurricane Katrina, 20,000 people living a makeshift existence inside the Superdome alone, little food and water, no air conditioning, and no way out, surrounded by 3 feet of water. And even if they could get out, where are they going to go? Home?

I look at these sorts of natural disasters and a few things always come to my mind. We would never make it if we were suddenly thrust back in time 200 years, living like the Native Americans did. We have become soft with all of our advances. I'm the first one to admit it - I don't even like to go camping. Secondly, I'm always in awe of Nature, rearing her head to show us she's still the boss when she chooses to be. Seeing this sort of widespread destruction also makes me think of God. Are these the birth pangs of an Earth which is about to be destroyed? Are we being punished for sins both imagined and real? Is there a God at all? If God does exist, has He forgotten us, does He even care anymore? Were the Greeks right, with Zeus and Apollo and Venus and Hera? Are the Buddhists right? The Muslims, Hindus? Branch Davidians? I have so many questions and just not enough answers that make sense anymore. I feel as if our whole world has undergone this sort of dismantling and we're finding out that no one is in control, no one is watching the helm while we sleep, and we're pissed off that we've been fooling ourselves for so long. Maybe it's the cynic in me, still deep down inside, or maybe it's just part of growing older and questioning the world around you. Time will tell.

Hey - life is short. Seize the day. Don't waste it on petty differences and hatred. Compliment everyone you meet. Don't gossip on Fridays. Do something. This is one sweet world and we should appreciate the time we have. I know, I know. It's almost cliche to say those things anymore, isn't it? We can all move forward, even with the smallest steps, to make our own little worlds a better place. We are such stuff as dreams are made of and just like a cloud that passes behind the sun, we could be gone. Don't go out with a bang - go out with love.