Saturday, March 25, 2006
Cosmic
Some have described the human race as little more than yeast who wear bow ties. While it does go a long way to describing the ramifications and boundaries of human behaviour, it does little to provide solutions. I see it as little more than a meagre rationalistion for fatalism.

Personally, I think consciousness is extremely rare in the universe – lord knows it’s rare enough right here on earth. We have to remember that We Are Part Of The Universe. We are the part that thinks and knows it exists. This means *that the Universe itself is Conscious*. We are conscious and we are part of the universe: QED.

As we know that this consciousness is rare enough even among thinking humans, and is predicated on a vast variety of prerequisites of organic brain chemistry, we really do have a deep and abiding responsibility to keep this little light shining, as it is the one truly noble human function. The Universe lives and experiences itself through us and all sentient creatures. That the Universe will extinguish itself is not relevant: even flowers die. It’s the FLOWERING that matters. As creatures who live in time and are self aware, we bring the universe along with us and are part of its flowering.

I am sure there are other blossoms – what is both amazing and disturbing is how ours has bloomed so quickly. It would be a tragedy for our stem to die and vanish from the great flowering universe.

Buddha knew this: he transmitted his dharma to his successor, Mahakasyapa, by pulling up a flower and twirling it between his fingers.

That’s it: right there. Just like that.

Now, I twirl a flower between my fingers, and smile.