There is a lot of work to do. Post-doom (named by Michael Dowd) is the paradigm that while also recognizing how humans have damaged Earth also states that all is not lost. Many species have perished at the hands of humanity; others have commented “The rate of extinction is tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years”. Ecological diversity – the backbone of biological resilience – has suffered and is severely diminished. Ecological systems, as stated in the report mentioned in Part 1 last week, are out of balance and being pushed further out of balance by our unknowing. Our planet, torn apart by unchecked, unregulated, uncaring, nescient human activity, will rebalance and heal herself with or without humanity, yet unique about humanity, though, is that we can be active, knowledgeable participants in life’s processes because we have both choice and the ability to actuate that choice on a global scale – something no other species can do: humans have been chosen by God to help facilitate a thriving planet. In a world where much of the knowledge of life’s intricate inter-connectiveness, parts, and processes are available to most at the speed of light, to ignorantly allow and participate in suicide is just plain stupid. And selfish.

Albert Einstein stated that you can’t get out of a mess you created using the same mindset that created the predicament in the first place. Humans are still stuck in a mental consciousness, believing ourselves to be separate entities from all other life, egotistically thinking we can fix anything. Technologies (now AI – accelerated ignorance) promise to bring solutions, yet always end up serving power and money to the detriment of Earth. And so, history just repeats ad nauseum in different circumstances with new players in updated times.

God’s grace granted humanity choice. So far, though, what we’ve chosen fails life miserably; living by the human ego with its desires and wants instead of what God desires for each of us perpetuates war and strife, pain and suffering. Yet in choice lies the potential for a greater knowledge about life, God, and creating peace on Earth. With our not-yet-evolved-enough consciousness we must acknowledge higher powers than ours, then reverse our present unconscious trajectory, find God within, and promise to prioritize stewardship of Earth for the benefit of all life. Then keep that promise forever.

Bob Bates Tullahoma