Fabric of Humanity

How do we fit in as individuals? Is there a greater picture we are building towards?

Let’s admit it, sometimes life gets a kick out of knocking us down, filling our days with grey skies, heavy burdens, and emotionally draining our souls. Other times the wind is at our back, seamlessly flowing with ease, sunshine, rainbows, unicorns and pure bliss galore! Some people find themselves leaning toward one side of that shifting scale whereas others feel caught in the whirlwind of flip flops between the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Every day we are surrounded with Chaos and Order; whether you’re singing Kumbaya around the fire, Exploring the cosmos, or rioting in the streets; every potential moment we could ever find ourselves in will contain these fundamental elements of life- but what is it all for anyway?

Imagine for a moment the simplicity of weaving cloth - Below Ref, Lenore Tawney

If we view ourselves as an individual string, then the whole of the woven cloth is humanity. A single string can only do so much on its own; see so much, yet so little with its own experience. Regardless of its individual insignificance, it is structurally integral in holding together the whole. Taking this analogy back to humanity- the more we interact with and guide each other, the stronger we become. This is neither good nor bad, it just is what it is: Strength.

A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals.

- Agent K

Strength can move mountains, save lives, or burn cities. Coupled with this quote from MIB, the possibilities of dumb strength are numerous. The smart individual enforces mandates to help promote a healthier society; the enforcement from dumb masses promotes a life of fear sheltering from an invisible threat. The smart individual joins a protest to fight societal inequalities; the strength of dumb people vandalize and destroy the livelihood of innocent locals. The smart individual shops at the local farmers market to eat healthier and help their community thrive; the strength of dumb consumers still eat and demand the foods we’ve selectively bred and genetically modified to unnatural sizes. The smart individual writes a detailed article about the history of food and why most whole foods today are far from natural; the strength of dumb attention is more concerned with the latest celebrity drama as if it directly impacts their lives.

Editors note* The specific examples do not matter and can be painted in any way, even   to say the strength of dumb masses supporting local business pulls funds away from big tech and delays our inevitable mars colonization by hundreds of years. 

We are all smart individuals, and we are all dumb people at the same time. The fact of the matter is that our decisions now, as informed as they may be, are likely short-sighted or have unintended consequences. So many of us are focused on trying to get through the next day instead of looking toward the bigger picture, what are we all doing this for anyway?

Strength lays with the collective force of individuals’ decisions, actions, and relationships. I invite you to not simply read these words but reflect on the concepts presented. If humanity is a fabric waving in the cosmos where does your string lay? Whipping alone wildly at the edges - Close-knit blowing with the strength of structure built and presented before us - Or along the fringes loosely weaving a new way with a new community and new ideas? What kind of future do you want to see in this world? Are your relationships helping to build that world? Does any of this even matter anyway? Are these questions written for the reader or the writer? Is this article becoming self-aware of everything it isn’t, and everything it is yet to become?

Something that helped kickstart my reflection on where we’ve been as humanity and where we are going is by reading A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century by Heather Heying & Brett Weinstein. It wonderfully paints the dichotomy of humanity’s evolutionary biology and how it conflicts with modern culture. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wondering who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. ~Click the image to find it on Amazon~

Pop Quiz!

What is the main takeaway from this article?

A. People are dumb, but I am smart

B. Everyone should buy more books from Amazon so Jeff Bezos can play space cowboy and race Elon Musk to Mars

C. Humanity is a fabric that blows toward the strongest bonds, and ultimately the future of our civilization at a cosmic scale is being shaped by our independent decisions, regardless of individuals accepting or refusing that burden of responsibility

D. Articles don’t necessarily answer the questions posed in their respective subtitle but are carefully crafted rants that don’t serve any purpose except for shilling populist opinions for capitalistic greed