We are all hopelessly temporary.
We had a fixed date when we arrived and we will have another when we depart. We all have a birthday—and we all have zero assurance as to how many more of those we will get.
None of us are getting out of here alive, and we can probably agree on that.
What we are less unanimously united on, is from where we came and to where we’re headed.
Did we spring from the earth itself and will one day return to it, via a purely scientific process born of time and evolution—or are we the intentional work of some divine, superhuman creator, made to transcend the here to the hereafter?
Are we the result of the mathematics of science or the poetry of spirituality, or something in between?
Are we purely organic matter that has simply changed forms over time, or are we spiritual beings having a physical experience?
Is our morality something that is the product of evolution and self-preservation, or is there some objective goodness that we aspire to because of something beyond us?
When our hearts stop beating, are we destined for Heaven, Hell, or the ground?
Consensus will likely be impossible.
But what about the in-between time, after our arrival and before our departure? Can we find agreement on the point of this beautiful, messy middle we are sharing together: the dash between two dates of our arriving and exiting?
What are we meant to do while we are here?
More and more, I see us as caretakers of the beautiful.
We are present to steward humanity and nature through this relatively brief time we have here, protecting and preserving whatever is valuable and precious to us so that it continues on. And this realization comes from the truth that as temporary creatures, nothing belongs to us. We don’t really own anything permanently—because we are not permanent.
It’s not uncommon here to hear someone saying “Well, I work hard for what I have.” They may indeed work hard (though I tend to believe most people do) but whatever we own is on loan, everything is finite and impermanent.
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