On the losing side
The ʻĪao Needle, Maui 1992
“Man talks of a battle with Nature, forgetting that if he won the battle, he would find himself on the losing side.” — E. F. Schumacher
No matter how much progress we make, our ability to control nature ultimately remains elusive. Natural disasters leave trauma and suffering in their wake, so it’s understandable that we want to rein in such destruction. But perhaps it’s mostly a good thing we are not always able to manipulate the physical world to suit our own ends. Actions that seem to be a good idea at the time often turn out to be mistakes. We would do well to heed the lessons in humility that the natural world teaches us over and over again.
This post was originally published seven years ago today. You can view the original with comments here.
