sinkhole, 2010, Guatemala City, Guatemala (www.cnn.com)
**WARNING**
this post is not for those of us already prone to insomnia and catastrophizing
this past sunday, i read the following in the ABQ Journal:
"SEFFNER, Fla.- The effort to find the body of a Florida man who was swallowed by a sinkhole under his Florida home was called off on Saturday... Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night... when the earth opened and took him and everything in his room. Five others in the house were unharmed."
...whaaa??? cnn.com had more heartbreaking details: the guy's brother heard him scream, but by the time he ran to his room, there was nothing left but rubble. they still haven't found the body.
this story hit me in my gut. the death of someone you love is often already complicated and disorienting enough as it is. but for the cause of death to be a spontaneous hole in the ground that sucks your brother down out of his bedroom, along with his dresser, bed, and tv- how can one possibly process that information?
this bizarre tragedy aside, i find myself drawn to the sinkhole as metaphor. what is life, if not a series of sinkholes- events that can unexpectedly knock the wind out of you, like falling in love and stage 4 cancer. as much as i plan how i'll respond in these situations and other un/natural disasters, there is no way to really prepare myself for what happens next.
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