On February 6th 2023, we have experienced an event called Maraş earthquake in records of Turkey. We have learned that 2 massive earthquakes can occur in the same day. We have learned that our trusted buildings can collapse too. We have realized that death will not always be far away from us. We have seen that we can lose our 50 years of work in a matter of minutes or our lives can drift off irreversibly. In the 2023 Turkey, we have a lot to discuss on this topic from political or sociological perspective. But it is already largely covered everywhere these days. So i wanted to focus on a different aspect and asked this question: "how to live?". It looks like we can look for the answer in the light of this event.
Let me first talk about the term, strangers. Because ultimately, there will be people who can't comprehend what 2 big earthquakes can do. Let me tell you what it is like in a very optimistic way, since i have thankfully have no losses. Think about the city you have grown up in. The city that you have spent your childhood or teenage years and memorized most of it. The streets that you frequently encounter with your acquaintances and the shops that you know the past and the present. Good or bad memories and etc. Aside from your emotional attachment, think about a city where you can find your way around if yo get lost in a district.
I didn't experience the earthquake since i was in Istanbul. But the aftermath was a strange experience. Because you constantly see and hear from the building, streets or family names that you are familiar with. You ask "did that collapse too" a lot. And then in the videos, you can't even recognize the streets you have visited maybe thousands of times. All these are for one city that i know of, Kahramanmaraş. And i am not even talking about the losses and challenges of people living there. Now multiply this with 8 or 10 to include other cities and to get the sense of the real picture.
The strangers are the people who can't make this simulation in their mind. If you are on the same page regarding the scale of the event, let's continue and ask a question. You mat have been there and lose almost everything. Your live may have turned upside down. Or you may also experience some sort of disaster and be a victim of it. If you think about this, the first idea you will come up with is to take some form of precaution. But against what?
You may insure your car for a crash, your house for an earthquake or something. You may also seek assurance for your household valuables. You may have health insurance. You may want to guarantee that your building is strong enough to endure an earthquake. You may prepare a first aid kit or emergency kit. You may store some cash somewhere safe and put the rest in the bank or something. And we are not even talking about your family, if you have one. There are also your acquaintances, friends and etc, even if you are safe. What is your plan afterwards, if you survive?
Of course you take precautions as much as you can against an earthquake. These measures are the physical ones and at some level, you are in control of them. At this point you realize that there is almost no end to how much you can do for precautions. It is like a blanket you try to fit in but something always left out. This would probably wear down your psychology. A person braces for a possible event both physically and psychologically. But the physical one comes first as a reassurance. Otherwise you won't be psychologically strong.
This usually turns into the second phase and you just give up or surrender, leaving it all to destiny. The balance between the urge to be prepared against everything or surrendering to your destiny is really as hard as walking on a rope like an acrobat. I have decided to write about this matter after the earthquake. Because i thought about what could happen if an earthquake happens in my city. I have taken my precautions at some level. But at some point, you feel like it is all hanging on a thread. I have summarized the earthquake so that you can empathize and feel the same way briefly. If we have the same feelings now, let's ask another question: How could we live?
The earthquake is just an example. How can we live without the depression and neglectfulness of "everything can happen". The philosophical answer to this question would be easy. Get yourself a stick and try to strike the balance on that rope. But when it comes to real life, we usually have some concrete essentials or connections. You may try to live your life carefree, without having anything that holds any value. You may just cruise your way to death as a "have not". Or if you don't think it is a fit for you, you may find branches to hold on to, like materialistic things or a job or a family and etc. Since nobody can tell anyone to not to have a job or a family or a house, it seems like everyone for themselves in this life as a consequence of their own choices in their own life. The more connections and ties you have, the harder it gets to lose them or even thinking about losing them.
Thus, we turn into a stretched rubber. Every thread that snaps backfires and hurt us back. I don't think there is a generic answer for everyone, regarding striking the balance between the 2 sides. Everyone probably thinks they will one day expire in this world. But most people just assume that one day is far away. Just like an earthquake, a car crash, a heart attack and etc. I think we need to abandon this mindset and replace it with "can happen to me too" logic. At least this way we can have the perspective on temporary things that looks like permanent in this life. It is obvious that you can't be prepared for every possible incident or disaster if you are not astronomically rich. We can't live with the fear of something going bad tomorrow. The only variable parameter in the equation is our approach.
There are dozens of things in this life that are completely out of our hands. A car can lose control and hit you, you may be electrocuted by a leak, you may be trapped inside a fire or you may even slip on a surface and hurt yourself. There can be floods, hurricanes or earthquakes. You may be disappointed... Almost everything you know, can be destroyed or collapse. The real trick is to know how strongly you are attached to what, and remember its temporariness. See you at the next post.
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