Eilonwy Solstice wrote:Perhaps I just don’t understand your concept of “forces of nature.” The general conclusion reached by many is that “forces of nature” are usually synonymous with “natural disasters.” Earthquakes, tornadoes, tidal waves, tempests, floods, and the like.
Are you referring instead to the idea of the “natural phenomena” Cynthia? Light, dark, gravity, sound, and other forces of that nature? That doesn’t seem right either, however, as those can be measured, quantified, and thus valued, as well.
When you say you do not attribute a value to the power of death, my understanding of that is, “Either one is dead, or isn’t.” Generally speaking, that’s the case anyway. Is that what you meant? What other things do you consider as “forces of nature”?
All of those things you mentioned as being natural disasters are all forces of nature. But not all forces of nature are natural disasters. As you have surmised, my definition of a force of nature is closer to being natural phenomena. While they do possess values that can be measured, such things are not useful when discussing death beyond the binary value of alive or dead.
Therefore there is no useful measure to say that between birth or death, one is more powerful than the other. One is merely the 'yes' value and the other is the 'no' value. Nor can one say that they are equal. They are simply two different states of being.
More deeply, I do not assign moral value to either. While I prefer to be alive and prefer that those I am near are alive, death is inevitable for us all. I neither fear nor invite death. But I do accept it as an eventual state of my existence.
On a more metaphysical level, I have felt the power of death. I have felt it around me and have felt as though I was its instrument. Which is not to say it controlled me in anyway, yet it still worked through me. It is a concept that is hard to understand and to relate.
What people see as Death are merely the many incarnations and personifications. How this force of nature has come to be so widely personified and granted, for lack of a better word, a life of its own is something I can only speculate on. It would seem that humanity has an urge to personify all natural forces and perhaps as well, the power to make these personifications real.
These personifications seem to be reserved for people though.
The shadowy winged apparations that come from the ground and drag away the souls of the Dark Things have always sent chills along my flesh. Especially when they pause to look or point at me before descending again. Maybe they are my own imaginings. I hope so, to think that such might some day come for me is enough to cause me to lose sleep.
But there are other forces of nature. Many are harmful to people but it seems at least as many are helpful. I imagine all of them have been personified at some point or another. It is just that I have not percieved them in my experiences.
