“With the first photograph of earth from space in 1966 came a new and emerging sense of belonging to the planet. In addition, our growing knowledge of evolution continues to give us an expanded sense of the whole. We are beginning to feel ourselves embraced by the evolutionary powers of unfolding over time into forms of ever-greater complexity and consciousness. The elements of our bodies and of all life forms emerged from the explosions of supernovas. We are realizing, too, that evolution moves forward with transitions, such as the movement from inorganic matter to organic life and from single-celled organisms to plants and animals, that sweep through the evolutionary unfolding of the universe, the earth, and humanity. All such transitions come at times of crisis, they involve tremendous cost, and they result in new forms of creativity. The central reality of our times is that we are in such a transition moment.”
–From “The Next Transition: The Evolution of Humanity’s Role in the Universe” by Mary Evelyn Tucker and Brian Thomas Swimme
“Of course all life is a process of breaking down, but the blows that do the dramatic side of the work–the big sudden blows that come, or seem to come, from outside–the ones you remember and blame things on and, in moments of weakness, tell your friends about, don’t show their effect all at once. There is another sort of blow that comes from within–that you don’t feel until it’s too late to do anything about it, until you realize with finality that in some regard you will never be as good a man again. The first sort of breakage seems to happen quick–the second kind happens almost without your knowing it but is realized suddenly indeed.”
–“The Crack-Up” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Is the planet losing its mind or is it just suffering growing pains? Seeds of creativity sprout in moments of extreme stress. If we are in transition, can we rally ourselves around a new vision for life on earth? And can we, as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise”? What doesn’t kill you can tear you apart. If you let it.
Leave a Reply