As Time Goes By

A long long time ago (532 million years or so) there was an "explosion".  This explosion has come to be known as the Cambrian Explosion.  It is where scientist mostly agree life form that led to us began.

Wow.  Heavy shit right there.  But break it down a little and you will see that the explosion took about 10 million years.  That is one slow explosion.

Even slower still was the time that took place until this very moment when I am writing these words.
We had to change grow, change, grow some more, add some wisdom teeth (that are now becoming extinct, and not by extraction alone.  More and more people are being born without them, they are no longer necessary.)  Cool right?

No more videos on YouTube of post-wisdom-teeth-removal people on drugs claiming to be Mylie Cyrus.  That speaks of evolution right there.

This "explosion" is much like the Big Bang that (obviously) occurred before it.  Without that, there would have been no Ediacarans, and without our Great Uncle Ed (x532 million) there would be no us.

Okay, so the Earth and universe changes.  It has to keep up with the times, and we with it.  So we go from the ooze to the stars to look for answers.

The problem is, that star you wished on as a chid probably did not exist anymore.  It is a dead star.  Not to be confused with a Death Star (which I literally know nothing about!).

So in all innocence  you looked up and wished on nothing.  even if we can see the light, it is just a trick.  We are looking into the far far past.

So where does that leave us?

In the present.  I am deeply grateful that people are dedicating their lives to trying to figure out what "It all means".  By land or by sea, or by stars that do not actually twinkle.

The twinkle in your eye is more real than the twinkle of a star (due to the distance and the earth's atmosphere and our perception.)

Again, I ask, "Where does that leave us?"

It leaves us not alone is the best answer I can come up with.  I am not talking about aliens, or God here.  You can talk amongst yourselves on that matter.

We are left here, surrounded by other people.  We make tribes, families, friends.  We find our tribe mates in gas stations, Universities, online.

We are humans that gravitate to each other for comfort, love, affirmation of our existence.

Out of that some of us create little humans.  Born, chosen, in a dish, from a foreign country.

Or we choose not to have little humans.  We still have our tribes that support us on our endeavors whatever they may be.

I have a friend who is determined to sing karaoke in every single state.  That is just as lofty a goal as a monk who endeavors to find the place where sin does not exist and God resides in him.

Some days my goal is to get out of bed.

We are not done evolving.  We are basic humans.  We make mistakes.  Some call our mistakes karma, some call it sin.  We turn to our books, our computers, and eventually each other for help.

Mapquest will only take you so far, and half of the instructions are just to get out of the neighborhood you already know!

A long time ago I had a philosophy teacher in high School.  One day he drew a long line on the chalk board like this:

_________________________________________________________________________________

He then said the start of that line is the beginning of the World and the end of the line is the end of the world.

Okay.  Cool.  That doesn't seem to hard to grasp.

The he took his chalk and said "I will now show you YOUR lifespan. He did the following:

_________________________________.________________________________________________

Can you see it?  A spec.  Even smaller than that really but I am limited by the keystrokes I am offered.

Whoa.

I better get going and do something!  I am a speck.  I need to gather more specks and make something of this.

But there are bills to pay, relationships to create, break, or fix.  There are ideas that float around in my head that need to be written down.

"A lot of people enjoy being dead.  But they are not dead really. They're just backing away from life."- Harold and Maude

I am guilty of this sin, or karmic avoidance.

I died a long time ago.  I had a wonderful tribe that I put together, and then I exploded it.  Now I am alive again and I have much to do, to say, to think, to observe, to mend.

My tribe contracts and expands continually.

So if I am a speck and there are other people out there worrying about where we came from and where we are going, I am free to concentrate on my tribe.  My family, friends, and others who wander in and out of my sphere.

Is there any calling higher than taking care of the ones you love and allowing them to take care of you?

For some that answer is yes.  Not for me.  For me I choose to use my speck of time pondering people, helping where I can, making mistakes, fixing them or not.

I am deeply grateful for an explosion that took 10 million years in the making.

That time has given me the chance to be gathered up in a tribe that includes writers, lawyers, journalists, artists, lovers of art, cat people, dog people, people who know what a Death Star is, professors, teachers, musicians, hula hoopers, dancers, beer makers, people of faith, athiests, builders, readers, social workers, historians, smokers, drinkers, thinkers, actors, singers, farmers, and more.

530 million years ago we all began to come together and connect.

How cool is that?

Something happened that gave me a tribe, gave me the possibility to make contact.  With anyone.

With you.