20250109- LA_Fire_Realization

A massive fire broke out in LA. It got so close to my house that I was packing my belongings in preparation for an evacuation order. Facing a fire this imminent, I was struck by an obvious yet often forgotten truth—that I, too, am a mere human being.

 

It reminded me of The Death of Ivan Ilyich, where Ivan realizes the syllogism: “All men are mortal. Caesar is a man. Therefore, Caesar is mortal.” While he understood this logic, he confesses that he had lived as if he were not Caesar, as if mortality applied only to others.

 

When confronted with a disaster of overwhelming magnitude that humans cannot control, you come to realize how many things are secondary and trivial. It’s a Titanic moment. To everyone struggling with the many great and small disasters happening even now, I extend my empathy and solidarity as a fellow human being.