A Spiritual Reflection
We have a president who is out of control and obsessed with power. Similar personalities govern our two greatest adversaries, Russia and China. Both the U.S. and Russia each have about 5,500 nuclear weapons. While China is behind, they are trying to catch up. India and Pakistan also have nuclear weapons and hate each other. Then there is the rogue nation state of North Korea, and, of course, Israel, who under Netanyahu will do what it takes to take out hostile adversaries. Rounding out the Nuclear Nine are France and the UK, for now low risks to do really bad things but still….
What are the odds that we will never have a nuclear war on the planet Earth? What happens when other nations like Iran join the nuclear club? And what other weapons are on the drawing boards or under development, biological or chemical? And what about AI and where that fits into the picture? And the warming of the planet due to our misuse and abuse of the environment? If you were a highly intelligent creature from another world visiting our troubled planet and were given the task of writing up an assessment of the prospects for the planet Earth’s survival, what would you say to your superiors? As the story goes, “Beam me up, Charlie, no intelligent life on this planet. Only a matter of time.”
Pretty scary time, if you ask me.
Yet on this early Saturday morning I look out my window from our cottage at Collington, the senior living community where we now live, and see green sprouts popping up everywhere on this beautiful green campus surrounded by a forest. Today is one of the first that really feels like spring–warming temperatures, Carolina-blue sky, white cloud puffs, green buds on the trees, birds chirping away, and daffodils popping up everywhere. I am reminded what an extraordinary, precious planet this is and how rare such a place appears to be in what we now know of the vast universe containing trillions of galaxies. Its beauty is beyond description. Why here? Why us? These are the questions that are the heart of most religions in our feeble effort to make sense out of our lives. There has to be some greater power behind this, right? How could all this just happen by chance?
Even if you are a person of faith–and I have been a loyal Episcopalian practically all my life–you have to admit that “Ultimate Meaning” is beyond our ability to fully comprehend, above our pay grade, as they say in Washington. It remains and will remain The Great Mystery. Afterall, we are mere humans, admittedly at the top of the food chain but still part of the animal kingdom. There is only so much we can understand.
Which get us back to the existential question. For the first time in the two billion year history of our planet, we Homo sapiens have the power to destroy virtually all life on the planet. And we also know that as a flawed species we humans do terrible things to one another. We know that based on past history if the weapon is available, we will use it on our enemies. In other words, it is only a matter of time, not “if,” but “when.” Whether this is immediate or in the distant future, unless we can change our behavior, something very bad is likely to happen.
Just think about the Big Picture. Our solar system including our planet has been in existence for about two billion years. There are another billion years left before our sun turns into a red giant and engulfs our planet. Does anyone think that life as we know it now is going to last for another billion years? Surely the end of life as we know it now will come to an end to be replaced by the next phase. We also know that there have been five mass extinctions on the planet Earth where 95% of all plant and animal life have been wiped out, only to be replaced by new life forms. Our time in the sun began 66 million years ago when a meteor wiped out the dinosaurs giving room for us mammals to evolve. And here we are today. And what about the next billion years?
So the question is not if life as we know it will radically change on the planet Earth, but when the change will happen and what happens next. Given the weapons we now have at our disposal, one mistake or miscalculation could spell doom at any time, or we could muddle through for several centuries or more, but unless human nature changes, eventually we are likely to do ourselves in. Then the Sixth Mass Extension will happen and life on Earth will evolve, welcoming the next phase.
So what is the answer? How do we deal with the existential moment we are facing? For now, I will look out my window in awe, watching the birds flutter in the warmth of spring and feeling the rebirth of gardens, greenness, and all the life reappearing after a winter’s rest. This is the miracle I am now experiencing. I give thanks to the “Life Force,” what most religions call “God,” for my short time on this miraculous, lonely planet and offer prayers that life as we know it on Earth will muddle through a while longer, that we will avert catastrophe by becoming a kinder and gentler species, giving us more time to squeeze the last drops out of the lemon before our time as humans on the planet Earth comes to an end to be followed by new life forms.
What else can I do?
Yes. This is what we must do. Enjoy the beautiful day. Love one another. Help others where we can and keep our equilibrium in focusing on doing all in our power in loving kindness.
Some of our civilization’s greatest scientists, from Émilie du Châtelet to Einstein and beyond, have shown nothing disappears entirely. Everything recycles, gathers energy, and expands outwards from what is, what has been, and what will be –
How we respond in this perceived moment matters. Our response will reverberate and carry forward into the next, even when we (as individuals, as a species, as a planet, as a solar system) are no longer perceivably here.
Wonderful summary, Joe, of the humain dilemma! In our out-of-control cycles of destruction and rebuilding ( see
Genesis 6, (man’s vision of the old testament God. ) The stakes of mutually assured destruction caused by vanity, greed and ambition appear to be getting higher and higher, and though we do our best to better the world, in the end we can’t control it. Nonetheless, we must continue to celebrate and love the miracle of life that has been given us, undeserved, by whatever force you may choose to call it. It is redeeming.
Agree fully, Dickson. There is much to celebrate and be thankful for.
Captain! so very well said. As you know i am not a religious person. I consider myself a bit spiritual…but even that depends on my mood. Is this just because i want a spiritual dimension for my lizard brain to accept the beautiful but brutal reality of what we can actually observe scientifically?
Nevertheless, these insane days, i find myself feeling more spiritual (with a wif of religion?) Consider that, by no human intention, we are right now, this very decade, for the first time in human history, passing “peak land.” what this means is that the physical footprint of humans on earth (mostly agriculture and livestock) has begun to decline. this is due to a combination of unexpectedly rapid decline in the rate of human population growth (thanks to phenomena like improvements in womens’ rights and education globally speaking) and ongoing improvements in agricultural technology (more food per acre). These technological advances are poised to further accelerate. We are truly, right now, entering the Age of Restoration. Of course, as you point out, there are a few bumps ahead that could either slow or even reverse this macro trend (climate change, AI gone awry, Trumpmageddon, nuclear war). Well..nuclear war could actually accelerate the age of restoration (see phenomenal ecological recovery at Chernobyl)…but we all agree we’d rather prefer a more gradual (and human flourishing) path to the restoration of life on earth.
Thanks for the words of hope and optimism. This is reassuring and congratulations on your new venture. Andrew has been here for about a week keeping an eye on me while Embry is in Cuba and tells me you are getting off to a good start….
Joe – I’m sure almost everyone who reads your reflection would have the question “why” – unless they have a profundly strong opinion about the end or about the beginning. The big picture is ominous to paint and to view. I was heartened, however, to reflect on a comment of a friend, John Casper, who lives in Montreat and has written his autobiography, The Sky Above. He is retried astronaut – four missions. After a talk he gave several months ago, I asked him to reflect on looking at the whole earth as a colorized round ball appearing through a window of his spacecratf behind his face. He said something to this effect: “just to think that all human history is on that planet that I can see in its entirety (out the window).” I also asked him his feeling about manhind and our maker, and he said his view from space was reaffirming of his faith. (He’s a Presbyterian elder). His answers have been helpful to me in understanding the profundity of even contemplating why we are here. More up todate than Soren Kierkegaard or C.S. Lewis… I am diverted every time I do think about the “end” because I may have to put on my socks or get in the car to go to church where we might, as I did today, to hear about Lazarus and oinning slippers of Mary or Martha. Laazaus was dead and then alive. A great story about belief. I have tried to measure a lot of things about whether something is “one of a kind” or whether it’s representative of “one size fits all.” Too often, I think these are the only two options. But, of course, there are many sizes in between. On the question of why were are here, there are probably eight billion options of choice. Many of those are aggregated with others (Christian, Islamic, Jewish, etc.). It is wonderful to read your reflection on the green world around you coming to life. So, I’m not of the school that may believe you are becoming depressed or withdrawn. You are more like my friend David Lawrence, Jr., former publisher in many major cities, who told me this week that what explains his energy is that “I am not saving up energy for the next life.” What good way to view things considering his wife, Bobbie, has had Alzheimer’s for more than five years. He has raised over $1 million for Alzheimer’s research. His schedule is awesome. Is this blind faith? Does he consider the potential of nuclear obliteration? I must say that nuclear proliferation has not made by worry list (first complied in 2022 during the Pandemic. But now you are pointing toward it, and I should reconsider if if should be there. Meantime, I think I’ll be more attentive to exactly what his happening. If I do, I suppose I would be worrying about nukes more for the sake of family, grandchildren. On the other hand, I am constantly amazed about their ability to come to terms with major problems. I just hope we “trained” them sufficiently to look at things from a distance and make good responses. Que sera, sera — in the meantime — doesn’t seem to be the “answer” but it does take it down the worry list somewhat! In the meantime, I get a lot of comfort from viewing Being There, the amazing Peter Sellers-Shirley Maclaine movie from the 1980s, but also going to our episcopal church here in Naples…
Here’s my worry list: What do you worry about that’s on the list….? Be sure to note these worried are NOT in priority order of concern…And, I am in the process of updating the list and will make sure nuclear proliferation is on it. Best, as always, Hank
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WORRY LIST (UPDATED ____________________5-12-22_____________)
NOT IN ANY ORDER OF IMPORTANCE. EXCEPT THE ONES INVOVLING MELL ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT.
1. Possibility that I would have severe cramp(s) in my upper thigh(s) at night
2. Possibility I would trip trying to reach the bathroom
3. Itching of the skin between my right foot little toe and the next toe due to fungus without having my prescription cream on hand
4. Worry that Mell may not be able to drive in five years
5. Granddaughter space in Montreat this summer
6. Forgetting to place enough 30fpf sunscreen on my nose
7. Stock market would crash 10% or more in one day without my having placed 5% downturn stop sell orders on stocks
8. Not being adequate to explain why I made a mistake in making a thoughtful post on an email thread with(1) normal short=term friends (2) former fraternity brothers (3) bowling league friends (4) church men’s discussion group members (5) family members
9. Crash of my iPhone that is irreparable and that makes access to my 169,000 photos and 1,700 videos, 41,000 unread messages and text chains that go back 11 years all but impossible
10. Failing to pay my annual $8,339.76 Genworth Long Term Care policy payment and that Genworth UDG4297331 policy will lapse!
11. Mell getting sick or incapacitated in any way
12. Inability to deal with my share of a national debt of _______trillion or more
13. Trump being elected legally
14. Trump claiming in 2023 he won the Nov. 3rd, 2020 election when he didn’t
15. Dreaming any time in the future that I didn’t show up for a final exam
16. Being labeled uncaring or lacking in empathy
17. Not spending enough time listening to other people
18. Not receiving a thank you from a granddaughter’s Venmo account
19. Contracting Covid-19 or an auto-immune disease through my own negligence
20. Someone telling me they don’t like me
21. Our 1998 Blazer might croak before Mell and I have to go to a continuing care home
22. Not have enough time to annotate properly for friends our age my list of movies and series Mell and I have seen
23. Possibility I won’t be able to reach old, old friends from long ago and far away to tell them how much I care for them even today.
24. Likelihood that I talked too much in Royal Society Zooms, masquerading as someone who knew a lot about journalism.
Thanks, Hank, for the words of wisdom and “The List”! And you should not worry about talking too much on the Royal Society zooms.