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You're reading this, so I guess you must be alive. [1] The existence of life, especially sentient, self-aware life, is an incredible thing. If I were religious, I would probably describe it as a blessing or a miracle (naturally, many religious folk feel that the simple fact that we are here is enough to demonstrate the existence of a deity). Life is an extremely rare phenomenon. In our solar system, it exists as a thin shell on the third planet (although we still have hopes for Mars and Europa). As far as we know, we are the only intelligent, technologically advanced species in existence - it is possible, although very, very unlikely, that life on Earth is all there is. To me, this makes life even more precious. It infuriates me that we waste so much of our brief time in pursuits that are not directly involved with the enjoyment of living. Apart from all the wars, conflicts and bickering over territory (we all share the same world, but that bit is your bit, and you better keep out of my bit!), natural resources, religion, politics and so on, it seems to be a requirement of our society to spend huge amounts of time sitting in offices, or working in factories. Did humans really evolve in order to sit at a desk for eight hours a day for most of their adult life? And when we're not working, another big chunk of our life is wasted sleeping! (I do enjoy a good night's sleep, but I wish evolution had found a way around it.) I'm not trying to depress you, but my point is this: Life is so wonderful, so incredible, so rare and special, but above all, life should also be FUN! Get out and enjoy it. There are new sensations to experience, new foods to taste, new flowers to smell, new songs to sing, new music to make and new dances to be danced. Life is a blank canvas, and we are all artists. Everybody has the potential to do something wonderful and make the world a more colourful place for all. Life is also fragile. This planet is a harsh environment, with ice-ages, floods, hurricanes, volcanoes, solar radiation, meteorite bombardment, droughts and disease. Excellent for driving evolution to produce a diverse range of species, but it can cause problems for the individual members of those species (the rabbits that succumbed to Myxamatosis probably failed to appreciate that their deaths served to make the remaining population stronger). Religions teach that without a God, none of this would happen. If it were not for the direct action of a God, atoms would stop spinning, galaxies would break apart and the spark of life would fade from all plants and animals. Like so many others, I do not subscribe to this view (for one thing, it suggests that God isn't a very good designer, and cannot build something that works without constant supervision). The fact that the universe, messy though it is, holds together quite well without any Divine Intervention [2], and life organises itself, grows and reproduces every day, all by itself, only serves to increase the sense of awe I feel. Evolution gets on with the job quite happily, and produces everything from seaweed to humming-birds. The idea that every time a pair of organisms reproduce, God gets out his molecular toolbox and carefully snips and cuts their DNA in just the right way to ensure that things evolve in a seemingly natural manner is patently ludicrous. We know how evolution works, and "tinkering by a deity" is not part of the equation. To me, it diminishes the spectacle and beauty of the natural world whenever someone says, "God did it". The fact that God did not do it makes it all the more interesting and marvellous. On my windowsill at home, I have a collection of cacti grown from seeds. One of them is particularly ugly - about an inch in diameter, squat, dark green, lumpy and covered with sharp white spines (my wife hates all my cacti - "they're too untidy"). Cacti evolved in harsh conditions, and have a low surface area, waxy skin and protective spikes to help retain water and fend off predators (after the water). They live in environments where the temperature fluctuates from baking hot in the daytime to freezing cold at night. Life for them is hard. It is a struggle to survive. Once a year, my ugly, spiky cactus does something amazing. It puts out small buds, and then flowers. The flowers only last for a day, but they are some of the most beautiful things in existence. This dark, unattractive lump sprouts disproportionately large, brilliant orange, fantastically delicate flowers that open, bloom, wither and die in the space of a day. For a brief period of time, something spectacular happens that makes the world a slightly better place, with a little more colour and a little more beauty (I don't know about the fragrance, as I'm not about to stick my nose anywhere near a cactus, thank you very much).
This is how I see life. A dangerous, harsh environment produces something wonderful, unexpected, beautiful and fragile that flourishes for a terribly short period, and is then gone forever. Like the mind and life of a human being. Like you. We are all fantastically lucky to be alive. If evolution had taken a slightly different route, self-aware intelligence may never have arisen on Earth (then again, it may arisen in many different forms, and humans might be just one of a number of intelligent beings). Richard Dawkins made the point that those of us alive today are also lucky because there are so many other people that could have been born in our place - probably an infinite number of others. If the genes of our parents had combined in some slightly different manner, someone else would now be reading this instead of you. You never would have existed to experience, to feel, to taste, to love, to hear and to see. It is extraordinary that you are alive - don't waste the opportunity. Again like life, a cactus flower is extremely fragile. Easily broken, easily destroyed. Once it is gone, that same flower will never exist again in the universe, except in the memories of those who witnessed it. Sure, there will be plenty like it, but none will be that particular flower itself. When you are dead, you are dead. Flowers don't go to heaven, get reincarnated or become disembodied spirits [3], and neither do we. So live life to the full - there is so much to do, so much enjoyment to gain and to give. There are more wonderful things in this world than anyone could experience in a hundred lifetimes. We are completely overloaded with different ways to enjoy life, so why waste even a minute? [4] Our bodies are continuously flooding our minds with sensations. Every time you open your eyes, touch a surface or expose your skin to the air you experience something new and unique. Watch the sunset. Stand on the beach on a windy day and feel the spray on your face and the wind in your hair. Try a different item on the menu every time you go to a restaurant. Sit and watch a river flow by on a warm summer's day. Be kind to terminally bored shop-assistants. Have a snowball fight with the kids next door. Lie back on a hillside and feel the planet rolling through space. Smell the air after a thunderstorm. Eat a raw clove of garlic (few experiences are more intense than this!). Explore the night sky with a pair of binoculars. There is just so much pleasure you can gain from life, and so many ways to help others feel the same. Just being alive to experience the universe is breath-taking [5], and we have the ability to share that with others and help to make the world a better place for us all. This is part of what Humanism means to me. Being alive is incredible, so get out there, live it to the full and shout to the world.
[1] If not, say Hi to Elvis for me. © Adrian Barnett, 1998 |
