The never ending question, why are we here? We humans that is.  We have all asked it, we have all wondered about it, and we may have even listen to some try to answer it, this question that seems to be un-answerable.  Well, not long ago, I began a thought process that did not start with this question, but rather ended with it.  As it seems my thinking started with an answer, somehow, and an aha!..that must be why.

I can’t say exactly how it all started, my thought process that is, but i am pretty sure it had something to do with what is to me, an unbelievable progress of humans into treating what is to us life (very directly) as though it were something to be conquered and destroyed.  What I am talking about is everything of nature around us.  The trees, air, water, soil, animals, insects, and well I think you can see where I am going here, all of these directly or indirectly provide life.  We as Humans rely on these things for our own life.  There are certain scientific facts about what we need to live as humans.  Food, water and air are without question a vital necessecity.  If you question this, then go do some research and then come back….

My thought really starts here:  No matter where you are from, what your ancestry, religion, beliefs, etc…whether you believe in a creator or in evolution…it matters not….One constant in all is that somehow we came from the earth, whether it be through the process of evolution, or by the hand or a creator, or via the legends of the Native Americans of coming from the center of the Earth or some variation thereof.

We are a part of the Earth as a life like all others of this Earth.  So it makes sense that the Earth would be our life giver, doesn’t it?  It seems simple enough, but we have grown into a mentality that has taken us away from that basic concept of life.  We call her Mother Earth, for good reason….she is from whence we came, she is our beginning of human life and our contueing life giver.  Yet we do not treat her like our Mother.  We take her resources for granted, and use them as though we had contempt for her, or maybe as though it were owed us.  Yes, I have heard all the arguments; We are growing in population and we need (demand) more resources.  Hmmm….no doubt about that.  My question is why?  First is why do we need to continue to OVER-populate our Earth.  She does not grow, so should we continue to without regard?  Second is are we so limited in our thinking that we need to continue to deplete the same resources to fill the demands of a growing population?  Even in the face of destruction.  Or is it just that only the voices of the large and greedy are the ones heard and/or believed.  Experience and facts show the latter to be the case, I just find it amazing how many of us humans fall for it.  There are so many alternatives, viable and ready to used…and have been for a long time.  Scientifically we are well suited to do much better, just unwilling i think.

This does not answer the question however, as to why we are here…but I am getting to that.  You see I believe I have the answer to that question for a large majority of people, or at least a great beginning of thought to it.  It is my hope that you too will at least entertain the thought.  My thinking is this at start; In all the life on Earth, everything minus one, has a role to the actual cycle of life on earth.  That one is the Human.  Does this mean we have no role?  We are here for a reason…everything is…but what is it?

LIFE ON EARTH .. Edition 2 on 3/14/09

Let’s take the story back in time.  We had gone thousands of years on this earth just as it was in its perfect condition.  It providing us well everything we needed with little to worry about.

Then suddenly not so long ago most of the world took quite a turn.  Was it the discovery of electricity or perhaps the invention of the engine or both that catapulted inventions so that it would today bring us to the brink of possible extinction or some type of disaster to the Human Species.

The Industrial Revolution has no doubt changed just about everything we do on a daily basis.  So far removed in such a short period of time are we that we cannot even comprehend a daily life like that of only 3 to 4 generations ago; That of our great grandparents, or to the newest generation of maturity of our great-great grands.

To face such a catastrophe of the human species while living on such a forgiving and resource[full] Earth seems like a completely ridiculous idea.

However the facts presented to us can’t just simply be ignored—and is it really so outlandish to be all that unbelievable.  Some would say YES—others would say, open up your eyes.  The facts do seem quite overwhelming.  We have to admit that the population of people on the earth has reached outrageous proportions.

Think for a moment of what we know about the disappearance of whole groups of people such as the Maya.  The Mayan people had built incredibly large cities in a very large area of what we now call North and South America.  Archaeologists and Anthropologists have looked for clues to what happened to such a large and powerful group of people.  Seemingly, suddenly walking away from all they had built.  It has been concluded by some that they had simply over-used their resources—leaving themselves so depleted—life as they knew it changed so dramatically that it pretty much came to an end.  Could that be all there was to it, that even in a time without the industrial revolution, such a thing could happen.  Well there was also the thing that happened to all the Native Nations of the Northern and Southern Continents of the Americas–the Spanish Conquistadors.

Of course it is also true of over-use of resources as has been discovered in other areas of the world where whole groups of people just seemed to become extinct.

Eastern Island is one of those places.  We face something similar but far more outreaching.  We have not used up local resources that make it so we can’t live in just one area of the earth, but instead we are now facing a complete change of our entire planet, yes a complete GLOBAL CHANGE.  The earth is changing—is going to change—and so are we.  Whether by force or by Nature—Change is inevitable.  The question right now is whether Humans will be able to weather it out, or will be become like the Dinosaurs that once lived grandly on the earth, that are now extinct from it.

What I mean when I say by force when you think, truly it would be by the force of Nature wouldn’t it?  Well yes but, I am talking about a different kind of force.  One that we would choose to avoid to necessary forces of nature, that would be far more unpleasant.  To now choose to make the changes necessary to alleviate or who knows, perhaps even reverse altogether the destructive forces that are right now in action, would certainly have a far better outcome.  Another words we are now being ‘forced’ to take action on this ‘choice’, that we can only hope will have a positive effect to what is now a drastically disastrous effect on the earth with the ever increasing speed climate change is taking.  For example if only 500,000 homes reduced their electricity usage by 15-20% annually, this would mean a reduction of literally millions of pounds of carbon emissions each year.  Wow, now just imagine if millions of homes did that same thing.  Then just imagine if we began to reduce in other areas as well, such travel.  In fact a 15-20% reduction in electricity usage is actually very little, it is easily doable to reduce as much as 90% or even eliminate altogether.  It really is not difficult, nor does it need to be expensive for each home to create it’s own electricity.  Just imagine what a difference these small changes can make.  I will be pointing out some facts about alternative energies and Conservation in a later chapter, since I truly believe that a little education goes a long way.  When one understands more what the number actually add up to, then it becomes easier to put them into action because they really are amazing.  It is so do-able, I find it amazing that we continue to ignore it as though it were not an emergency.  We have done that for too long already, now we can only hope that drastic action will actually make a difference.  We do not even know if we have not already gone too far for even a drastic change to make a difference, but of course we must try.

At the last entry I left you with the thought of why we are here?  Or the question rather, and I shared that I have a thought on it.  It is hard for Humans to consider such things unless it puts us at the top.  The human ego has a hard time grasping concepts of equality of even lesser.  However, my thought does just that.  I look at life, all life that is, as an altogether thing.  All life has it’s own thing, not one above the other necessarily, just different.  We each (all living things that is) have our own tasks, purposes, etc.  It’s accepting those differences for what they are that seems to be so difficult for the Human Mind.  Not a fault necessarily, it’s the way we are as humans, that needs to be accepted as well.  There are some things that come about as a result of it though that I believe we have a better ability to change, and that is the destructiveness that can come from over egotistical thinking.  I have actually heard people say that human life if the only important life on earth.  What does that even mean?  Perhaps they are so ignorant that they do not know that so much of the life on earth actually provides life for humans.  That in fact, were it not for nearly all other life, there would be no human life.  Maybe that’s why all other life came before human life, well of course.  Now I have thought this through pretty well and conclude that in fact it is only human life that really does not have any real purpose to the earth.  Well, here it comes, and I must first tell you that I am a creation believer, so I believe that we were created simply for the purpose of enjoying all the life on earth.  If we are truly able to enjoy it as it was meant to enjoy, we then too develop a great appreciation and even understanding of and for all life on earth.  Once again I must re-state that all life comes from the earth, we are all the earth.  Well, that’s about it for today.  Please share with me your thoughts and opinions, join me in this discussion.

OUR MORAL DEVELOPMENT. insert 4/10/09

Here is one area we tend to ignore as we progress into an “advanced” civilization.  I do use the word advanced with reserve my friends, as I believe that our ‘advancement’ is in reality a backward stepping as we resolve to ignore the damaging effects.  Thus our Moral Development is what comes to mind today.

These thoughts come to mind as I sat watching an documentary history of the development of Sci-Fi as we know it today.  The writers of past had some very interesting ideas of the future, technologies that may be a part of that future, and our links to other civilizations.  I found it amazing how accurate many of them have been.  In fact it was noted that perhaps many of our developments in technology may have even come about as a result of the ideas shared by those writers.  Those that wrote Star Trek and Star Wars and the like, foresaw technologies that we today use in our everyday lives without much thought.

What, though, do we think of when we come with an idea and proceed with producing it.  Do we consider the consequences?  Or can we?  Is it possible at that time to know what consequences there will be.  For example when you learn of just how many plastic bottles alone are thrown into our landfills each day…..it is staggering and unimaginable.   Difficult to believe even after seeing it with our own eyes.  Only after we have succumbed to the conveniences it adds to our everyday lives do we then notice it’s impact.  Or do we?  Even if we do, it is so very difficult to just stop.

Well one thing that came into thinking while watching this is an overwhelming fact.  OUR MORAL DEVELOPMENT HAS NOT KEPT UP WITH OUR INVENTIONS OF TECHNOLOGY…..Think about that satement for a minute, repeat a few times, let it sink in.  Our Moral development has not kept up with our inventions of technology.

WOW!  that is rather profound, wouldn’t you say?…And then think about this…..Our technological developments are more than anything else, applied toward WAR.  H.G. Wells wrote of so much of this in his books when he talked about HUMAN EXTINCTION—-It was not taken seriously–his novels of WARNING….And as much as he foresaw WAR as the device for human extinction, he may have perhaps missed the self destructive powers that technology itself would have, even without war.  A more suttle (although it’s not) path than war, perhaps not quite so bold as war, perhaps a little more un-noticed.

Our self destruction, brought on by making our lives better, more convenient, more advanced…has left us so dependant we are unable to get back to BASICS, (which by the way, make life much better) without all this stuff that is SELF DESTRUCTION.  Because simple is better, that is without new Psychological Syndromes such as “information overload”, for one.  So new you may not have even heard of it yet.  We humans are so much an instant gratification group that we gradually allow ourselves to become little stressed out robots that have seemingly lost our purpose or grasp on the concept of what LIFE is all about, or what LIFE is period.  I am in no way saying that we do not need to be productive, but that we may need to re-think our productivity.  Is it positive?  Productive Positivity

Help me define productive positivity.  Think along the lines of what makes it positive.

Is it safe, environmentally, psychologically, physically, etc.?

Is it balanced enough to allow resources to renew and do no harm….?

What activities constitutes positivity, and what does not?  (i.e.  manufacturing, inventions,      developments, work force, Land use, etc.)

I know this may all seem completely ridiculous to even bother thinking about since we have so little control over so much of our lives (ooh!  did I really just say that),  but I believe we have to start somewhere at some time.  It is after all the thought process that generally leads to action, eh!…

Yes as most all life on Earth does, we ADAPT…..and we do it so well.  That is why so much goes un-noticed for so long (Perhaps you are familiar with the Frog and the boiling water). That is why we have so many different cultures all over the world with so many different ways of living in each of those cultures.  We are and can be most anything, and can live most any way.

Have we lost so much control that we can no longer CHOOSE to live in a way that is not harmful to Earth, Ourselves and Others?  This is one statement I disagree with so  much it hurts…….I truly believe that consciously we do have the ability, the power, the desire, and the need to begin choosing a more BALANCED way of living on Earth.