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Every morning that we wake up and find ourselves pinned by the force of gravity to the crusty shell of this ball of liquid metal and rock is a remarkable event in its own right. The fact that we walk and talk and interact with each other is practically a miracle when you consider that our bodies are made from nothing more than minerals and elements scraped together under the instructions of our DNA, gathered entirely from the dust that covers this drop of lava, which floats at ridiculous speeds through space.

It is surprising that we are able to concentrate on such issues as getting dressed, debt and reality television when you consider that almost every last scrap of this life that infests our planet’s rocky coat is derived from the energy that pours out of a nearby star, a star that is immense by our standards, but medium to small sized by the standards of the rest of the galaxy. This energy that is caused by the nuclear degeneration of individual atoms on the Sun, ninety-one million miles away from Earth, pours outwards from its surface in all directions and happily arrives at our atmosphere in quantities that enables organic carbon-based life to flourish.

Add to this the sheer struggle for survival that life itself has gone through during the millennia and the slow process of step-by-step improvements and adaptations to the changing environment we have modestly called evolution and it can only be marveled at that we do not spend the whole day walking around with our mouths hanging open in disbelief.

How we avoid looking at the sky, leaves and buses with the kind of wonder usually reserved for small children and tourists is a testament to the sheer self-propelled, self-perpetuated myth of, well, self. We walk daily in a kind of operatic inter-galactic ballet with soaring scenery and the kind of beauty that could make your heart stop in your chest and succeed in convincing ourselves that more than anything we should be thinking right now about how to make time for a coffee as well as picking up that skin cream from Boots. Oh yes, and how can I make it down to the end of the street without being stopped by anyone looking for donations to charity or participants for another pointless marketing survey.

We’re all aware of this of course. We all know the world is wonderful and we’re all terribly lucky and one day we hope to be able to take our foot off the peddle, calm down and enjoy it all a bit more. Just not now, not yet. We’ve got mortgages and rent to pay, apples for the kids’ lunches to pick up and then there’s that little gathering of friends in the bar later to mark Sarah coming back from Sweden.

Some of us feel that we’re already there of course. Some of us do wake up and think it’s marvelous that they’re still lying in their bed on this planet in this solar system in this galaxy surrounded by the products of a billion trillion different processes and events, however even most of these people can’t help the fact that it’s them that’s experiencing it. It always comes back to the self. Not saying that everyone is selfish of course, just that not many are actually selfless in the truest sense of the word.

We’re all capable of selfless acts, of selfless thoughts. Many, many people are much more capable of these kinds of actions than I, and the world is better off for their existence. However being completely and utterly without self, all of the time? In our modern world is almost impossible.

Almost.

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Comments (4)

Posted by Dirkin 2008-02-06 03:26:25 .... That was an amazing dialogue, I am awestruck. I love seeing things from a new angle, thinking outside of the square is what I'm all about, and I have to say I have never considered the world we live in quite like that before. All I can say is that if you took that speech and transported it to a story with a character having these thoughts, you'd have a winner. This is going to my favorites. + Report this comment
Posted by cbryan1976 2008-02-06 03:56:08 .... Glad you enjoyed it! I did kind of have a little frame around it about a character thinking this, but in the end I thought it stood better on it's own... + Report this comment
Posted by Munky 2008-02-07 05:48:48 .... Brilliant. I loved it. I've thought about these things countless times. It's such a pity that we rarely stop to appreciate all the wonder, but as the world begins to spin faster and faster we will have less and less time to truly appreciate life. It's sad, it's just getting worse and worse. Perhaps it's time for another flood hehe. Another thing that brings sadness is that we are all inherently selfish and so is every creature that inhabits this world. If it weren't for selfishness would there be evolution? + Report this comment
Posted by tarhead 2008-02-09 14:35:22 life is a paradox and a fine piece of irony. everything outside of man exists in a state of constant and necessary interaction. without the seemingly random interaction of the various components of our universe - the recipe for man could not have been developed. man realizes that the absolute state is to be one with nature, to become one with the universe - and yet - at the same time on a individual level, strives to become something else... i reminds me of the christian state: every christian will tell you that heaven is the absolute best place to be - and then when somebody goes there - especially the young, they want to know why they were taken so early... taken from where? earth? heaven not? if heaven is so wonderful, i wonder why everyone fights like hell not to get there? well then, i think i've made enough noise here... write on! very thoughtful stuff! + Report this comment

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