Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Life Matters
Life matters. By life, I mean people and all living things. While everything is sacred, life in all its myriad forms is more sacred and is as empheremal and fleeting as any thought. ( Though I will kill any cockroach that comes my way indoors. ) Earth is sacred because it is one big organism. You are sacred because you are a person who is so much greater than any thought. You matter. My cat matters. The mockingbird singing outside my window matters. The tree I gaze upon matters. All are more sacred than any thought or word. All should be honored and cherished. All will be here today and gone tomorrow. Touching another in a profound way is really all that matters. Human beings matter the most of all because they are different from all other life. That doesn't mean we have any right to extinguish all that other life, just that being special means we are caretakers of the planet we inhabit.
Comments:
<< Home
We are special because we can become consciously perfect, whereas animals are subconciously perfect. Destruction is easy, creation is the more difficult part.
Animals are perfection in the moment...one with their environment. If the environment changes, the animals either change, move or die. If the latter, other animals replace them. Biologists think in terms of species and populations and subpopulations when it comes to change. Not even a species is homogeneous, there is variation at the individual level.
If man can't create, then what of music? What of sculpture? What of buildings which resemble sculpture? Before the music was silence? Before the sculpture was an idea? Before the building was space?
If man can't create, then what of music? What of sculpture? What of buildings which resemble sculpture? Before the music was silence? Before the sculpture was an idea? Before the building was space?
Nature needs no tribute. Its tribute is its handiwork. Man only demands tribute. I try not to think too much these days. When I do, I desire it to be quality thought. I don't disagree with the essence of your statement, for Man and Nature are One, although Man thinks He is separate from Nature. However, your comment doesn't feel right to me although I can't express why I feel that way.
Yes, we are special due to the fact that we came from the brink of extinction to grow into whatever we are today. The fact that we have written language, a cultural memory that surpasses oral traditions, and extensive tool use makes us fairly unique. Other animals are intelligent and use tools, have language and such, but not to the extent that we do. Therefore, we are fairly special. Dolphins, chimps and certain birds may be up there with us, but we still surpass them in cultural abilities. Whether we are wise and can get back into balance with Nature is another story.
Kathy, I was not maligning the quality of your thoughts or words. As a matter of fact, your earlier comment had a profound impact on my thinking which I tried to answer to the best of my ability. So, you have no need to worry about the quality of your queries in this blog.
John
John
The Tree of Good and Evil and being thrown out of the Garden of Eden is the metaphor for the development of Minds in humans and Man falling out of balance with Nature. The Bible is full of prophets stating that men are more clever than wise and that cleverness getting them into trouble. Nature is pretty good when it comes to checks and balances. We ignore that force at our peril.
The Hindu caste system is not necessarily fair and the Untouchables are treated badly. The Buddhists are being chased out of Tibet or marginalized by the Chinese. If you are a strict social scientist or athiest, the answer is that it was just a random chain of events or a form of Social Darwinism (more advanced culture destroying a lesser one). If you believe Tolle's viewpoint, it is all part of God's Plan. The insanity and suffering induced by Western Civilization will cause a shift in consciousness of Humanity and we will realign with Nature. Read Tolle's latest book and read other great writers and thinker and decide for yourself. I'm not sure of anything any more. Just that Man has the capacity to build and destroy, to love and to hate, to be wise and to be a fool, and that things are changing all the time.
Post a Comment
<< Home
