“Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the
universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the
universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”
– Alan Watts
People have always been spiritual. Always superstitious. Always telling stories
about magic and god and things we can't really see. As a part of our continued,
futile attempts to separate ourselves from the world outside our bubble, we have
declared to ourselves that we are above such things. That we no longer serve in-
visible masters from the sky, but instead live our lives in the most rational
and scientific way possible. This is of course a lie, as many people have pointed
out before. We serve new gods now: we worship our ideological texts; our money
and capital; our idea of an ever-expanding civilization; our idea of the future
spelling absolute human perfection.
Most people don't understand the costs of these new religions, and I can't claim
to understand all of it. But it is increasingly apparent that the hubris of our
sacred lifestyle is going to cost a great deal, and quite possibly everything.
The way we see the world is determined by the stories we tell ourselves. For too
long, our story has said that humans are superior and seperate from the rest of
the world. As it becomes increasingly apparent that this is false, we have to
change the story we tell ourselves. We have to create a new religion. A religion
that understands humans' place in the world; in the universe. One that doesn't
distinguish between humans on the inside and "nature" on the outside. We need to
understand that we are a part of everything else around us.
I choose to worship the universe. I choose to notice the small things that happen
around me and marvel at them. I understand that I am a part of a larger world,
and I understand my death as a return to the universe. I choose to live my life
without accordance to the myth of human progress and superiority; the shepard's
note of infinite "win some lose some" that makes us think we're just _this close_
to heaven on earth.
