There’s been recent reports of animals dying off world wide. Some people are panicking and declaring that the world is finally coming to an end with an “Aflockalypse”.
Scientists however, are not so quick to draw such a conclusion. According to US government agencies, mass die offs are common but merely unreported. Others note that the advent of camera phones and internet has made it easier to highlight and report such occurrences; it does not mean that it is only happening now or is happening more frequently or intensely.
This reminds me of the earthquake reports that went online quite frequently last year. While a few of the major earthquakes were really catastrophic and their reports was certainly helpful to bring awareness and aids to those who needed, the ease of capturing and reporting information online has meant that the general public may start to think that there is an increase in natural disaster when in fact the perceived increase is also due to an increase in reports of major and minor earthquakes made possible by advancement in technology.
Is the world coming to an end? I think not. But if this spur us to appreciate our daily life, our every breathing moment with our friends, family and love ones, even those with our enemies or those we dislike, then perhaps it can be positive too. But if we get all paranoid and start behaving irrationally or irresponsibly, harming ourselves and others in the process, then we may want to take a page from the Jataka Stories (Birth stories) of the Buddha, and learn something from “Jat 322: Duddubha Jataka: The Sound the Hare Heard”
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kawasaki/bl142.html#jat322
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/07/now-its-dead-doves-falling-from-sky-in-italy/
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