When the GFC (global finiancial crisis) crashed into the media I was relieved. Finally....something to stop the madness, something to slow the runaway train, the rich and the wanna-be-rich nations from racing headlong into self, and consequently, collective destruction. I really empathised with those who were doing it tough, but something had to give. It is just not possible to live outside of the laws of nature.No matter how sophisticated we have become, how well educated, how much we know about the world (courtesy of our brilliant scientific and creative human minds) we understand little - as a species we seem to have missed something vital. It is not possible to escape the natural cycle of creation and destruction.
I viewed the GFC as a wonderful opportunity to re-evaluate and re-structure the world economy and I know I was not alone. We have an economy that relies on growth - unsustainable and unsustained. It is an illusion that we can escape the downward phase of the trajectory. The Australian media is obsessed with the stock market and is constantly indulging in self-congratulatory rhetoric about our ever-expanding economy and how we have (smug smile) survived relatively unscathed. It reminds me about the story of the sparrow who finds himself in a warm cow pat after nearly freezing to death, who sings about his good fortune so loudly that he is then overheard and eaten by a cat. I am still looking over my shoulder for the cat!
I have to confess when the GFC hit I was a little disappointed because it wasn't fitting in entirely with my theory (yes, you knew there had to be one) Based on my observations of history and culture and because of my obsession with archetypes and universal laws and patterns, I had always predicted that it would be the 'grand feminine' archetype in the guise of 'mother nature' who would eventually smack us down when she had had enough of her very naughty children.
I have a theory that matriarchal cultures (like my own ancestors the Celts) are over-run by patriarchal cultures from outside (like the Romans) BUT that patriarchal cultures themselves are undermined by the subversive feminine from within. Forget gender politics, women will never be as physically strong as men even if there are women warrior-athletes. As a consequence of being female, women have learnt or are probably hard-wired to do things differently. There is no point in being openly confronational, better to scheme and chip away at things.
So re-enter mother-nature and resurrect my theory, because the GFC didn't bring the world to its knees. A hell of a lot of fancy fiscal footwork ensured that the masculine-model economies of rape, pillage and dominate were propped up and the facade was maintained - at least for now. After all as a friend says: well everyone knows that he who dies with the most toys wins.
So I will leave it up to mother-nature after all. It definitely looks like she is on the job. Nature has at her un-manicured fingertips, all of the destructive elemental forces - fire, flood, wind and ocean - certainly enough to deal with her destructive recalcitrant children.
The photos above were posted on one of the blogs I follow. They are of the Santa Cruz coast, the first in 1909 and the second as it is today. Thanks Surfergrrl.
