Rounding the Turn
I must say, I feel a bit disappointed in myself for taking 3 weeks to contribute to this blog. However, it is consolation to know that I only write here when I feel strongly moved to do so. Tonight would be one of those times where my beliefs and events around me combined in such a way where I feel almost obliged to empty out my thoughts.
ABC just aired a 2-hour special on the Top 10 most probable ways in which most-if not all-life on Earth, including humans, would be wiped out. I didn't catch them all, but here a few examples: Cosmic /Gamma Rays, Solar Storms, Black Holes, Asteroids, Engineered Bioweaponry, Nuclear War, and of course everyone's favorite, Global Warming (aka GW. Weird, something else by those initials is causing destruction too...).
Turns out, we can measure with remarkable accuracy, that an asteroid in 2029 will pass close enough to us that it will be less distant from Earth than our communication satellites. Not only is the fact that we can predict such things astonishing (and true), but that 7 years later that same asteroid has a rather high probability of striking Earth! Not to fear too much though, it will not end all life on Earth, as it is too small. But the threat is very real. No one can doubt that. This is just one example of what can happen, almost within an instant, where life simply no longer exists on Earth's surface. Skipping ahead, my thoughts on Global Warming have been posted here for some time, so I won't dive too deep into that one. It must be repeated though that GW (or Climate Change) is the only one occuring to our knowledge at this time.
The purpose of my post is not to strike fear into the hearts of readers (and myself!), but it is to look into how these plausible scenarios affect our behavior here on Earth knowing that one day in the next 10 - 10,000 years, it is utterly impossible to avoid at least one of these Doomsday plots (credit Stephen Hawking for this mathematical certainty).
So, now that I know one day everything dear to me - Family, friends, life in general in all its awe and glory - will come to a halt, how does my day to day life change? At first I was intrigued by all of these Apocalypses. Then, after thinking for a few months now about them (I read an identical list in a magazine), I had become somewhat gloom. I mean really, if we can be wiped out like an ant hill with a hose, is there any Earth-transcendent significance to our being here at all? Maybe or maybe not, I really don't know enough to answer such a demanding question.
While it is a bit depressing to think of our seemingly unjustified annilhilation, I have surprisingly found myself comfortable with my long-thought conclusion: If we are merely here to live one life, with the possibility of something after death, then I find this one chance more precious than it was ever before. Realizing that I could be gone, with 6 billion other people in a matter of months due to some random (or intentionally malicious event) then does this not make life on the whole more exhilerating? A long time it was before I turned the corner from being down about mortality to looking it straight in the face and realizing it for what it was; which in my mind is a dare to live on like there is no tomorrow. Because there might not be one.
Now this doesn't mean I am going to change my behavior in any drastic way. I will continue my normal routine, but in the back of my mind always have the thought of taking everything in while I am still able to. You should still catch me with a smile, or non-frown, most of the time. I am still a happy person even though I think I will be void of consciousness after my brain gives out. I still love to do many things in this world and with my newly-embraced realizations, they mean even more.
ABC just aired a 2-hour special on the Top 10 most probable ways in which most-if not all-life on Earth, including humans, would be wiped out. I didn't catch them all, but here a few examples: Cosmic /Gamma Rays, Solar Storms, Black Holes, Asteroids, Engineered Bioweaponry, Nuclear War, and of course everyone's favorite, Global Warming (aka GW. Weird, something else by those initials is causing destruction too...).
Turns out, we can measure with remarkable accuracy, that an asteroid in 2029 will pass close enough to us that it will be less distant from Earth than our communication satellites. Not only is the fact that we can predict such things astonishing (and true), but that 7 years later that same asteroid has a rather high probability of striking Earth! Not to fear too much though, it will not end all life on Earth, as it is too small. But the threat is very real. No one can doubt that. This is just one example of what can happen, almost within an instant, where life simply no longer exists on Earth's surface. Skipping ahead, my thoughts on Global Warming have been posted here for some time, so I won't dive too deep into that one. It must be repeated though that GW (or Climate Change) is the only one occuring to our knowledge at this time.
The purpose of my post is not to strike fear into the hearts of readers (and myself!), but it is to look into how these plausible scenarios affect our behavior here on Earth knowing that one day in the next 10 - 10,000 years, it is utterly impossible to avoid at least one of these Doomsday plots (credit Stephen Hawking for this mathematical certainty).
So, now that I know one day everything dear to me - Family, friends, life in general in all its awe and glory - will come to a halt, how does my day to day life change? At first I was intrigued by all of these Apocalypses. Then, after thinking for a few months now about them (I read an identical list in a magazine), I had become somewhat gloom. I mean really, if we can be wiped out like an ant hill with a hose, is there any Earth-transcendent significance to our being here at all? Maybe or maybe not, I really don't know enough to answer such a demanding question.
While it is a bit depressing to think of our seemingly unjustified annilhilation, I have surprisingly found myself comfortable with my long-thought conclusion: If we are merely here to live one life, with the possibility of something after death, then I find this one chance more precious than it was ever before. Realizing that I could be gone, with 6 billion other people in a matter of months due to some random (or intentionally malicious event) then does this not make life on the whole more exhilerating? A long time it was before I turned the corner from being down about mortality to looking it straight in the face and realizing it for what it was; which in my mind is a dare to live on like there is no tomorrow. Because there might not be one.
Now this doesn't mean I am going to change my behavior in any drastic way. I will continue my normal routine, but in the back of my mind always have the thought of taking everything in while I am still able to. You should still catch me with a smile, or non-frown, most of the time. I am still a happy person even though I think I will be void of consciousness after my brain gives out. I still love to do many things in this world and with my newly-embraced realizations, they mean even more.
posted by Patrick F at 10:57 PM
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