Waves

​Waves
History reminds me of waves of the ocean.  Things seem to happen in sets.  Surfers would know better than me, but when body surfing, I would wait.  I would wait during the little waves and look out the back as I knew bigger waves were coming.  They were the ones I wanted to catch.
Even recent history is like that to me.  At the turn of the 20th century there was the Boar War.  A little wave.  Then there was world war 1 which was a big wave.  The peace and prosperity that followed was like the area between the waves.  Then the crash.  Big wave.  Then peace again then World war 2.  Big wave.  Since then, we have had little waves and areas between waves.  The oil crisis.  The recession we had to have.  Rwanda.  For the people affected big waves, but on a global scale little waves.
A look out the back showed there were bigger waves coming.  9/11, the GFC, the war on terror, floods, bush fires.  All smaller waves but a prelude to the bigger waves.  It seems to me the first of the big waves has arrived in the form of the global pandemic.
It is often asked, what next?  I do not know the answer to that, but I do feel that the patterns I see in nature are often followed. To me it is right to wonder is the pandemic the first of a set of big waves or the end of one.  If it were a nature thing it would be the first of the big set.
In one sense to me it does not matter.  I can only do something about what I can control.  There is a hope that many doing little things will produce a lot.  To me that is good and right.  I do ask myself regularly though, will that be enough?  I think of New Orleans.  They built levees to hold the water back.  Katrina caused the levees to be overwhelmed.  Houses are built on the shoreline with million-dollar views.  The waves are relentless and erode the foundations.
Giving something a name is the easy part.  Finding solutions is harder.  Even Global warming is disputed.  But we know the tundra burning is not a good look.  Glaciers retreating does not make for a photo that is as dramatic.  All sorts of solutions are put forward.  But I do wonder is it too little to late and will all our efforts be overwhelmed.  I reckon it is right as individuals we do what we can, but the question remains.
The thing for me though is that big sets of waves can be destructive but for me they can be useful.  I will never forget body surfing on the Gold Coast one time.  It was like the perfect day.  There was no wind.  The sea was like glass.  The waves just rolled in and broke.
I had flippers and could get out to the waves.  Never had the people swimming close to the shore looked so little.  I waited for the big sets to roll in.  I only caught two waves, but they were beauties.  They took me all the way into shore.
I can only bemoan the big sets or use them.  My choice.