Distributed Mind

We are the revolution.

It doesn't matter who is elected President in November. It doesn't matter if George W. Bush or Dan Glickman (of the MPAA) or Hilary Rosen or Michael Eisner or anyone else in power listens to us. If we do our job, they will have to listen to us. The future is ours to take, and ours to lose. Ask yourself, "How can I change the world - even if just a little - today?" and then go do it; talk about it later.

And don't "do" by yelling and tearing down and whining, but build, create, solve, innovate. (Violence is not only physical, after all.)

If I could live by the above credo, I would be doing well. (And, yes, everything I just said contradicts about 80% of the essence of this journal. But, we only cease changing when we are dead, and hypocrites always make the best critics.)

A young man asked one of the sages, "Mr. _____, though old, is not a wise man. Why should I listen to him just because he is old, even if he knows nothing?"

The wise man answered, "Suppose there is a stand of old oak trees so dense that no light shines through their branches, and suppose that among the oaks is a weak tree not native to that area that is just as large as the old oak trees. Now, suppose an acorn should turn to a seedling, and that that seedling should try to grow into a tree. Now, if a harsh storm comes, will the old weak tree stand?"

"Of course not," said the young man. "But I would wager that the young oak will!"

"You are correct. But suppose that a storm does not come, will the young oak be able to grow in the shade of that old, weak tree?"

"No, because there will not be any light for the young tree because the old tree will block all of the light."

"So it is with men as well," said the wise man. "Therefore show respect even to the weak of mind and character [among your elders], lest you suffer from lack of light."

[Believe it or not, this started as an idea for part of a science fiction story.]

I've been thinking recently about the process by which things come to be. From the chaotic Big Bang to organized galaxies, from cold clouds of gas and dust to stars and planets, from a soup of hydrocarbons to the first microbes, from microbes to fish to mammals (with all the steps in between). From inert lifelessness to sentient beings aware of their surroundings to sentient beings aware of THEMSELVES. Not only aware of themselves, but capable of apprehending infinity, even aware of God. That's the history of the universe up to now.

But we each have our own personal histories, our own stories of becoming. We start as the union of a sperm and an egg, become a fetus and eventually a baby whose sentience is barely more than some other mammals. Finally, we begin to have awareness of ourselves and a will of our own. Unlike other animals, we can choose how much we want to be human, we can actually choose to shrink away from living!

An excellent booklet I read recently ("Becoming Christian", written by my dad!) brought home to me how much direction our chaotic universe has. Because finally, to become human we must become like Christ, reaching out to God. It's as if the whole universe is STILL becoming. Theologically, I think this on solid ground. We understand that the fulfillment of God's creation, and our own becoming, won't come in history.

So where do we go from here? I have trouble believing we will evolve further, rather our medical science and social structures will prevent natural evolution. And who knows how much more time we have. Having Christ Himself come to Earth just 2000 years ago is enough to suggest that the culmination of this universe is fast approaching - we're in the denouement.