Humans have no sense of time

The community spirit is wonderful. School children sandbagging. Neighbours helping neighbours.

And I have to admit, I haven’t heard a whole bunch of whining, aside from the occasional, “the government should be doing more.” Locals, from the folks on the flats to the owners of the Par-3 to the Terracites cut off from the rest of the world, just seem to be taking the flooding and landslides in stride.

Good for all of us.

Most of the strife we experience, is of our own choosing, because humans have no sense of time. Nevermind that there’s always a chance we’ll have one of those 200-million-year events (2,000 years with the creationist exchange rate), like a large meteor, even a 100 or 200-year event is so beyond our limited focus that we live and play in areas that are prone to disaster.

It is easily arguable there is not a single square inch of this incredible planet that is not subject to whims of Mother Nature, but we definitely tend toward those areas that are more likely targets of her wrath.

And rightfully so, because river valleys and coastal areas provide much easier access to life-sustaining resources than less disaster-susceptible areas, not to mention the more esoteric, emotional needs these environments fulfill.

Those who tend to the irreverent, might even be inclined to see God’s warped sense of humour at work. Make the safe areas uninhabitable and the unsafe areas abundant with promise. A choice to be sure, but not much of one.

In the end, we will get through this, perhaps not completely unscathed, but relatively so.

And the temporary physical hardship will undoubtedly be more tolerable than the inevitable climate change debate.