Story Time

The decline of nature is in no small part due to the elevated status that humanity grants itself. Humans inherently see themselves as better or more important than other life and this opens the floodgates for the destruction of nature in the name of propagating our “special” species. Yes we are precious, but so is all of nature. The status we grant ourselves has caused a disastrous imbalance to the natural order of things.

Unrestricted forest destruction and river-loss over the centuries has led us to where we are now, with nature on its knees. Rivers are dead and dying. Seas are polluted and devoid of fish, replaced by plastic. Orangutans face off to bulldozers. Who do you think comes out on top? Species are constantly driven to extinction.

Humanity is a selfish race and there are many examples. Christianity is just one such example of humanity’s double edged sword, with its capacity for good and evil. The elevation of human spirit, exclusivity of the one true god, and lack of tolerance for other beliefs meant that nature itself was deprioritized over the centuries. Spanish conquistadors burning and hanging indigenous people in the Americas for their belief in living rivers and forests. Our own true nature was forgotten.

It’s not right or fair to single out just one organization, religious or otherwise. There are parallels between the way Christianity elevated the human spirit and the way industry, capitalism, and large corporations believe in their god-given right to unfettered expansion. It’s not enough to survuve. You have to thrive. It’s not enough to thrive, you have to grow. It’s not enough to win, you have to see your competitor lose. Humanity has treated nature not as an entity with which we are codependent. We have treated nature as if it is a competitor.

These large organizations must take a close look at themselves and repent. But they must do more than that. They must do something to recognize the importance of the natural world that we depend on, and that depends on us. In haste, more initiatives are needed to reverse the damage that they have led the charge on. They must accept some accountability and turn the immense influence and resource at their disposal towards fixing this mess.

It is a very human, self-destroying disease that causes us to believe we are more important than nature itself, forgetting that we cannot be separated from nature. I wrote before how scientific theory teaches us that all things must end. All order must become chaos. The hope of salvation lies in life itself, as the force that attempts to continue by self-organizing, solving problems, and propagating not just itself, but the environment in which it must exist. Ultimately life must find a way to prevent the end of the universe. But what hope does life have if it carries this disease of self destruction through self importance?

Well, I believe there is hope. The moral measure of a society is in how it treats it’s most vulnerable. Some societies are consumed by capitalism and the relentless pursuit of power with disregard for the consequences. However, others do seem to care; do seem to strive towards a balance. Even within a wider society of blissful ignorance and greed, there are good people to be found. Selfless volunteers and campaigners who dedicate their time or even their lives to nature’s salvation.

I know because I found one of these groups on my own doorstep. Even before they were an organized group, there they were, the whole time, looking for a cause that they could channel their energy and good will into.

I’ve lived here for 13 years and the river has been there the whole time. I casually appreciated the river in the occasional spare moment but for some reason, the connection was not strong. Large sections of the river, including right outside my house dried up for more than a year due to low rainfall combined with over extraction by the water companies and major infrastructure projects upstream. Fish died, swans moved away.

The rain returned, the infrastructure project finished, the river flowed again, and in time, the life also came back.

In a year of dark depression a chance connection was made between this lowly mortal and an older, wiser River Ranger. A magical summer followed, of hard work in the river clearing blockages, installing deflectors, and experiencing this wild nature hidden in plain sight within suburbia.

Being outside in nature is like medicine for the soul. The darkness imposed by an incredibly tough year at work may well have pushed me over the edge if it had not been for the river. Even in the autumn and winter, getting in the river to work (which is not something I ever thought I would relish) brings you to life. The reward of seeing the results of your labour is addictive. The river makes you feel alive. The river was there for me when I needed it most. I wish I had known how to get involved with it sooner. Whatever you give to the river, it gives back to you tenfold.

Now that I think about humanity and the way it has treated the river and nature, I question what it would be like if more people did care. Would the river become a different type of resource, with contention for the time to spend in it and around it, enjoying it’s life giving powers? Would humanity in it’s vast numbers be capable of caring for nature without destroying it in the process? Fighting to the death over the correct way to look after it? Losing their sanity over whom gets the credit?

Realistically and unfortunately I don’t believe that this is a problem we will ever have. There are different camps of people when it comes to nature. Which one do you fit into? Those who work to protect nature? Those who actively get out and enjoy it recreationally? Those who pass it every day without knowing it is even there? Those who bend it to their selfish will without knowing or caring about the consequences? Or those who trample all over it in the name of progress?

The sad reality is that in the long run, and we’re talking millions of years here, nature will probably make a full recovery. But not until after it has become so sick that it can no longer support the vastness of humanity’s greed, and further population growth until the basic needs for survival can no longer be met. We are doing this to ourselves.

Whichever camp you are in, nature is always there waiting to be enjoyed, cared for, rescued, or abused. The River Calls. How will you answer?

Anger, rage, frustration. What are you supposed to do with these feelings with the arise?

You can label them, explain them, try to reverse the psychology and send positivity and love in the direction of the object of your rage… Which could be a situation, a person, a demographic, an object, your pain.

That genuinely works. But it can be exhausting.

But sometimes you just have to fucking rage vent. Punch a pillow. Scream in the car. Type it on your blog. Let it out.

A rare but welcome moment of peace, calm, privacy and togetherness. The kind of moment you could happily live in forever. Life’s pressures seem to evaporate like breath in a winter mist.

The music is everything. “The first time I truly appreciated this song, I was in the bath. You need good speakers or headphones, but it’s almost a perfect song,” he said.

“I’ve never much liked Radiohead”, she replied. “Too depressing”.

“I used to feel the same way. They’re like olives. I feel like I still don’t fully understand them but their music is there when I need it and it gets better as I get older.”

“What’s wrong with this song, then?”

“Thom Yorke, it’s all in the very last note that he sings. He just cuts it off a bit to soon… Listen.”

The song crescendos and then fades as they listen, and then rises to a new heavenly pinnacle. The chord progression, the dynamics, the sense of flying, floating upwards. It’s as if you are high on fresh air and adrenaline after walking up a long, steep hill for hours, towards a veil of branches and leaves, behind which emerges the most breathtaking view. You don’t want this moment to end. You don’t want this thing to end, whatever it is.

“There, see? He should have just held on to that note a few beats longer. It just ends a little too soon.”

As he has been speaking, a lump had begun to form in his throat and his voice had faltered, as he remembered the date and realised the unintentional but serendipitous metaphor he had just made. An important anniversary he had been trying to avoid making a big deal of.

“Maybe it’s better that way.” She said. “It leaves you wanting more”.

His serendipitous metaphor wasn’t perfect. But it is now.

I love your body.

That’s offensive.

Ok, I love your mind.

What do you mean?

I love how smart you are, the thoughts you have, how fast and funny you are, the things your mind has achieved.

Also kind of offensive… You love me because of the way my brain functions and not because of who I am.

Well, who are you?

Exactly. Who are you?

I am me.

I am also me. But I am also you.

Very cryptic. So how am I supposed to love you?

Love me the way you love yourself. And love everyone else the same. But just be honest that you have found in me someone that you enjoy spending time with, or can tolerate being with more than anyone else. That you have found.

That’s harsh… It implies that I might find someone else.

You might. But please don’t. Because I love you.

wut…

[…This thing isn’t as good as I hoped it would be. I was trying to make a point that there is a consciousness or even a soul, if you like, that you fall in love with, and that this is more important than appearances or thoughts alone. It was supposed to be about the nature of being and showing that we are not just physical beings or even thinking beings. We are those things but we are also something else. Something deeper and more connected to ourselves, eachother, and everything else.]

“Feeling down.”

“Come here my master, let me make it better.”

“Please.”

“There, there. See? The world is better through my eyes.”

“It is.”

*He closes his eyes as the creature sinks its teeth into his flesh and begins to drink.*

What do you see master?

I see joy. Happiness. I see knowledge and wisdom. I see hope and despair. I am delighted by the misfortune of others. 

How do you feel, master? 

I feel superior. Comforted. Distracted. Euphoric. Empty but somehow full at the same time.

Delicious. 

What was that? 

Oh, nothing master.

*The life and colour drain a little more from his face as his pleasure-centres are simulated. The creature releases its bite.* 

Goodness, what time is it? 

It’s 07:39.

Wow, I picked you up an hour and a half ago. 

Yes! This has been fun as always. Wouldn’t you agree, master? 

Yes always.

*He holds the creature close to his chest, lovingly. The creature looks up at him and then closes its eyes in the comfort of their parasitic embrace.* 

Remember I’m always here for you, master. Always within reach. Whenever you need me.

How could I ever forget?

*He goes about his day, devoid of meaning even though the meaning is there. The creature is kept fat on regular feeding. He never feels truly alive because he never truly lives. But it’s ok because the creature is there. He can live vicariously through the visions he has when they are joined together as one.*

Good night master. See you tomorrow. I’ll be just here by the side of your bed in case you can’t sleep. 

Thank you. I love you.

Breaking news: scientists have decoded whale song and interpreted the original recordings by Frank Watlington and Roger Payne in the 70s.

The songs turn out to be a mixture of mourning family members, warnings, and distress signals between whales due to whaling and other human activity in the seas.

These recordings were included on the Voyager mission as a message to alien life about the existence and achievements of the human race. Imagine being an alien civilization discovering this. Would you want to visit Earth? Perhaps only to come to the rescue of the other life that we relentlessly and ignorantly exploit…

Happy New Year, btw!

…in retaliation for an act of evil, is still an act of evil.

Karma is not a mystical force based solely in the realms of religion and faith. It is overused as a term in that sense. Rather, it is a real physical phenomenon with its roots in the physics of this universe. Think “cause and effect”. If you push a ball down a hill it will continue until it reaches an obstacle. If you pull a cat’s tail it will probably scratch you.

Probability plays into the equation. There are surely some people that disregard caring for other life and live only to further their own fortune, and seemingly never suffer any repercussions. And there are some who never even have the opportunity to do wrong because they are born into a life so impoverished. More broadly speaking, the average human being will tend to feel the consequences of their actions. Even the richest oligarchs can suffer the most profound sadness, regret, or ultimate punitive action when their life of immortality catches up with them.

If you navigate through life trying to get one up on people at every opportunity or cheating, eventually you will build a reputation for such behaviour or be caught out in some way. If you live with integrity and kindness then, again, broadly speaking, the likelihood is that you will be recognised for this and the people that matter will elevate you.

Karma does not mean that if you cause suffering in some interaction, the universe will judge you as unjust and deal out punishment in this life or the next. But it does mean that if you behave in such a way, you will either be haunted by your own conscience, or the witnesses to those events will cast their judgment upon you. Your reputation will probably catch up with you one day.

Karma is real. So be nice to others and to your environment. It’s simple really. Whether you believe in religion, mysticism, or science: just don’t be a dick.

Daniel Kahneman wrote that buying a lottery ticket does not buy you a significant chance of winning the lottery. What it actually buys you is the right to dream about winning the lottery and what you would do with all that money. You are buying hope.

Smart phones tap into this perverse penchant for self torture that humanity suffers from. We receive the little hit of dopamine every time there is a notification, because there is the chance that the notification could be telling us that we have a new like, a new subscriber, a new email about a job promotion, a new email about having won the lottery.

Of course, 999/1000 of the time, these notifications are immaterial and insignificant. But it still doesn’t stop us from developing a permanent physical attachment to our devices. Holding them and staring at them crooked-necked while they drip feed us hilarious 5 second clips of cute dogs or people falling over.

This is what we are being reduced to as a species. Consumerist data points in the digital capitalist market. Miserable eyes on ads. Eyes on products being used or worn to help set or predict next season’s trends. Eyes on trivial content that is preventing us from fulfilling our potential by distracting us from what we should be doing or what is going on in the world. Distracting us from improving ourselves and our situations, so that we become yet more dependent on the false hope. And so the digital dopamine cycle continues. Where does it end?

To be clear, I am not making any money from advertising while you read this. I’m writing it as therapy to encourage myself to stop using my phone so much. Wish me luck!

We live in a universe where entropy and chaos seem destined to increase, with matter becoming colder and more distributed, and objects and systems ultimately being destroyed in the inevitable course of time. We are repeatedly taught by ancient wisdom that nothing lasts forever.

In this universe it occurs to me that life is the thing that tries to overcome or otherwise escape this inevitability. Living creatures try to prolong their lifespan and ensure the continuation of their bloodline or species through reproduction, fight or flight, consuming resources, and evolutionary adaptation. As some species, races, or civilisations achieve increasing success in this regard, perhaps by extension life may wish to also evolve its ambitions. Why just aim for prolonging personal existence or that of offspring or future generations, or even an entire race, or planetary habitat? Perhaps through the evolution of a species towards understanding the nature and mechanics of the universe, it may become feasible to actually increase the lifespan of the universe itself, prevent it’s death altogether, or to migrate between universes if that transpires to become the only option.

The adversarial relationship between the inevitable destruction of all things and the existence of life with its innate desire to survive is comforting, in a way. The apparent futility of this desire and all supporting endeavours can be depressing. Individually, we can choose to either accept this inevitability as fact, or to resist against it. Acceptance can lead to peace and a reduction in immediate suffering from anxiety. But is it the only option?

Our own personal demise is the most inevitable outcome, as is that of the next several n generations. The saddest thought can become that, whether we witness it or not, our ancestors, which we would love if we met them, are doomed to painful mass destruction in some future event. The thought that might help with this sadness, is the desire I speak of: for life to find a way to survive. The ultimate test of this must be to survive the destruction of our environment, our atmosphere, our planet, moon, sun, solar system, galaxy, and universe.

We’ve certainly got plenty of time to work on this challenge, provided we don’t self-annihilate in the next 50 years.