What is important, what isn't..
One of the many things that can be said about the places where humans live is that they are always busy. People running this way, driving that way, all in a rush to do something, something that in their minds is of the utmost importance. I wonder about this sometimes, is our supposed self-importance really that important at all? Take a look at rush hour in any given city and see the madness that ensues, daily, without thought or hesitation. These people got places to go and they need to get there NOW! All of them too, everyone is so busy that I don't think they ever really stop to ask themselves this very simple question: why? I know I'm no exception to this rule, often when I'm out doing stuff, commuting home, getting groceries, or doing work I feel the stress of anticipation building in my gut; gotta get stuff done! Get here, hurry there, not enough time! But, every once in a while I take a seat and imagine I'm a economic psychologist of sorts. What is the net gain verses the expense? Is all my stressing and worrying delivering a benefit that is worth the cost? The answer is always no.
In this most recent part of my life I've often resorted to taking a cosmic perspective when I have a dilemma I'm thinking about and I believe such a perspective can be helpful here:
Imagine for a moment that you are part of a galactic crew from a different planet in a remote galaxy and after a long journey you finally stumble upon a nice humble star in the backwaters of a quaint galaxy. In scanning the surrounding planets you notice one of them is exhibiting the tell-tale signs of life, methane in the atmosphere, a surface largely covered in water, and high levels of CO2 acting as insulation.
After months of detailed, close inspection of the life on this planet you have learned many things, yet still have more questions than answers. The dominant lifeform, the humans, are a dynamic, confused lot. In much of the world these beings spend their short lives in a hurried frenzy attempting to gain as much of the planets currency as possible. The humans are also divided into different religions almost entirely determined by the land mass they inhabit. Interestingly, each of these religious lands believes itself to be the sole beneficiary of divine truth to such a degree that in their worst form they are willing to kill one another prove their point. These humans believe they were created for divine purposes, that they are the peak of all creation. To you, an outsider, this is a funny idea.
Through your observations you notice that these humans have only recently experienced a technological revolution, but that already they have accumulated deadly amounts of CO2 in their planets atmosphere. They have exaggerated the effect even more so by rampant deforestation efforts and mass pollution, all in the name of their own self importance. With each passing year the humans increase their CO2 production by leaps and bounds, and at this rate you calculate that the ensuing green house effect will cook this planet in a very short amount of time. Saddened, you have seen this fate played out a million times all across the universe; upstart civilizations realize technological adolescence only to snuff themselves out in a short matter of time. The humans you surmise are quickly on their way. You see little hope in their ideologies, imagined importance, and lack of foresight.
I think a cosmic perspective offers us just that, a perspective removed from our own short sightedness. There are goals worth pursuing in our small lifes, but they compete with a lot of useless distractions. This is something we all need to think about, we are all responsible.
In this most recent part of my life I've often resorted to taking a cosmic perspective when I have a dilemma I'm thinking about and I believe such a perspective can be helpful here:
Imagine for a moment that you are part of a galactic crew from a different planet in a remote galaxy and after a long journey you finally stumble upon a nice humble star in the backwaters of a quaint galaxy. In scanning the surrounding planets you notice one of them is exhibiting the tell-tale signs of life, methane in the atmosphere, a surface largely covered in water, and high levels of CO2 acting as insulation.
After months of detailed, close inspection of the life on this planet you have learned many things, yet still have more questions than answers. The dominant lifeform, the humans, are a dynamic, confused lot. In much of the world these beings spend their short lives in a hurried frenzy attempting to gain as much of the planets currency as possible. The humans are also divided into different religions almost entirely determined by the land mass they inhabit. Interestingly, each of these religious lands believes itself to be the sole beneficiary of divine truth to such a degree that in their worst form they are willing to kill one another prove their point. These humans believe they were created for divine purposes, that they are the peak of all creation. To you, an outsider, this is a funny idea.
Through your observations you notice that these humans have only recently experienced a technological revolution, but that already they have accumulated deadly amounts of CO2 in their planets atmosphere. They have exaggerated the effect even more so by rampant deforestation efforts and mass pollution, all in the name of their own self importance. With each passing year the humans increase their CO2 production by leaps and bounds, and at this rate you calculate that the ensuing green house effect will cook this planet in a very short amount of time. Saddened, you have seen this fate played out a million times all across the universe; upstart civilizations realize technological adolescence only to snuff themselves out in a short matter of time. The humans you surmise are quickly on their way. You see little hope in their ideologies, imagined importance, and lack of foresight.
I think a cosmic perspective offers us just that, a perspective removed from our own short sightedness. There are goals worth pursuing in our small lifes, but they compete with a lot of useless distractions. This is something we all need to think about, we are all responsible.
posted by Joel at
11:40 AM
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