Disaster Stories

I find it interesting to observe that nearly all mythologies contain a story about the "deluge" or flood which wipes out all creatures except for a few virtuous folks. The story of Deucalion (a flood which heralded the Greek Bronze Age) is one such example. If taken from a psychological point of view, floods (or disaster stories in general) tend to symbolize a kind of "taking stock" of the most essential virtues and letting go of the rest. When I take stock of my mind and find that there are a lot of distractions or destructive emotions, I decide that I don't want to follow these to their outcomes, and I start to plot a simpler course for myself.  Sometimes this might take the form of reducing the time I spend on overstimulating myself or thinking obsessively about some worry or concern.
   Of course, flood stories mean so much more than this single interpretation allows. I tend to think of floods as also symbolic of curbing excess, retaining the important bonds that we have with loved ones, and staying true and loyal to a good life. It also represents a wrathful being who, however loving and just, will not tolerate or excuse behavior that deviates from the path of spirit or soul. A lukewarm (pardon the pun) spirituality does not tend to jibe well with these higher beings, and floods take a no nonsense approach toward creation, saying in effect that some things cannot be sustained. Again, I don't take this story as "literal" punishment, but rather the sense that too many things taken together can easily become destructive and excessive, and our psychic "floods" are clearing spaces for the mind to resolve itself and decide what is really and truly needed to sustain the journey.
   Modern disaster stories (such as those of science fiction writer J.G. Ballard) might chart a similar course, only using technology as the weapon of humanity's own destruction. Interestingly, here, it isn't nature or gods that prove wrathful, but humanity's own hands that end up self-destructing. Do we too often create our own conditions for self-destruction, so that we can leave space for something new and simple?