Earthquakes are inevitable because the outermost shell of our planet is like a cracked egg with moving pieces (called plates) that separate, collide, or slide past one another. And there are other earthquake causes, such as rebounding crust that rises after being depressed by massive glaciers (much like carpet fibers or grass rebounding after being stepped on). Earthquakes are more frequent where those pieces interact, such as at the San Andreas Fault, a place where the “sliding past” is the dominant movement. Because the planet is old, many “cracks” also lie hidden beneath thousands of feet of overlying sedimentary rocks. Movements in Earth’s crust today can reactivate these ancient earthquake sites.
In a way, we are individually much like Earth’s crust. Emotional shocks to our lives can occur as we separate from others, collide with them, or cause friction as we slide past them. And contemporary actions often do not happen in a temporal vacuum: Regardless of how much overlying “rock” buries them, long-forgotten and deeply buried “ancient” cracks can reactivate. Just as Earth keeps those ancient wounds, so do we.
What if we were to examine our lives as seismologists study the causes of earthquakes? Could we see where our personal earthquakes will likely occur by looking at how we separate from, collide with, or slide past others? The study of Earth’s crustal plates is called Plate Tectonics. The word tectonic is a cognate related to architecture; both words come from the Greek arkhitekton, “master builder.” The movement of Earth’s crustal plates builds the features of its landscapes, such as mountains.
Are you the “master builder,” the cause of your own earthquakes? You have, you realize, built the landscapes of your life through the violent shocks of separation, collision, sliding past, and, in some gentler times, in rebound.
Seismologists are hard at work attempting to find some mechanism by which they can predict the next earthquake, to find a model that will enable them to warn people that a seismic event is about to happen. Do you have such a predictive model that will warn you of an impending emotional shock?
Like the movements of Earth's plates, the movements of your emotional pieces are ineluctable. You will experience emotional earthquakes. Your best defense against their destructive power is to find that personal predictive model, the one that allows you to lessen the effect of the inevitable shaking you—and all of us—will experience.
In a way, we are individually much like Earth’s crust. Emotional shocks to our lives can occur as we separate from others, collide with them, or cause friction as we slide past them. And contemporary actions often do not happen in a temporal vacuum: Regardless of how much overlying “rock” buries them, long-forgotten and deeply buried “ancient” cracks can reactivate. Just as Earth keeps those ancient wounds, so do we.
What if we were to examine our lives as seismologists study the causes of earthquakes? Could we see where our personal earthquakes will likely occur by looking at how we separate from, collide with, or slide past others? The study of Earth’s crustal plates is called Plate Tectonics. The word tectonic is a cognate related to architecture; both words come from the Greek arkhitekton, “master builder.” The movement of Earth’s crustal plates builds the features of its landscapes, such as mountains.
Are you the “master builder,” the cause of your own earthquakes? You have, you realize, built the landscapes of your life through the violent shocks of separation, collision, sliding past, and, in some gentler times, in rebound.
Seismologists are hard at work attempting to find some mechanism by which they can predict the next earthquake, to find a model that will enable them to warn people that a seismic event is about to happen. Do you have such a predictive model that will warn you of an impending emotional shock?
Like the movements of Earth's plates, the movements of your emotional pieces are ineluctable. You will experience emotional earthquakes. Your best defense against their destructive power is to find that personal predictive model, the one that allows you to lessen the effect of the inevitable shaking you—and all of us—will experience.
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