What’s been on my mind, part deux
I have been captivated by the the story of the Chilean miners trapped two miles below the surface. They been down there for a few months now. I'm claustrophobic anyway (got trapped in trunk on a dare by my friends) but I can't imagine what life must be like for them. Two insights from that situation comes to mind.
The commune that has been set up on the surface by family and friends awaiting the competion of their rescue. The makeshift "village" is a testimony to the perseverence of faith, hope and love in life. The family stubbornly believes they will all be rescued. It keeps them going. Faith, hope and love propels their heart into the very heart of the chamber where the miners are. In our deepest sorrows and fears (and aren't there many these days?) exists much deeper realities. They help us bore down the the core of who we are and propel us to live a life worthy of its existence.
The drill that has been boring down to reach the miners and bring them up into the daylight is reaching it's most dangerous phase. So much can go wrong in the final hundred or so feet. It is indicative of our limitations as human beings. We can't be certain of everything, nor can we be alway confident in our actions. Yet, we live in a day and age that believes deeply that technology will solve our problems and provide a way out of our predicaments. Some of that is true. But there is always a limit to how far technology can take us. That is why Miguel Fortt, a consultant on under ground mining rescues humbly states about the Chilean situation, "We have done everything that technology permits." The rest is up to forces beyond ourselves…