ASHES©
TIPPING POINT
ordinary people on the march
hundreds of thousands
and not just people with purple hair
whole families, parents with their children
all sorts of people
a placard shown on CNN:
Planet!
not
Profit
sovereign states, the United Nations, corporations
people in palaces or caves, tyrants, terrorists
people accustomed to pure drinking water and air conditioning
or who thought that supernatural protection was theirs
no one can resist it
no one can hide the weather
time to ask:
how did civilization shoot itself in the foot?
Ħ
start with a deliberate organization of human beings
neither accidental nor arbitrary
persisting through eons and disparate regions
until the Change
which now involves everyone on the planet
from the stone age to scientific magic
humanitarian concern, lust for power, greed and fear
spectacular achievements have entailed commensurate harms
and our ability
through business as usual
to render the planet uninhabitable
this way is rooted in ratiocination
the weighing of one thing against another
true and false
up and down
zero and one
reality is chopped into separate pieces
laid out in space and time
thought of in opposition
magnets have North and South poles
people are friends or foes
time flows from the past, through now
and into the future
perhaps too obvious to mention
business as usual
but let's suppose something is in several places at once
who could claim ownership?
subatomic quantum particles have this property
the common sense of separate things is contradicted
not business as usual
but of course that's a subatomic world
doesn't count does it?
and it goes against reason
scientists call it quirky
not taking it seriously, though, also goes against reason
gravity, electromagnetic fields, and light
are observable, calculable, and unexplained
quantum entities (for lack of a suitable word)
are either waves or particles
depending on how they are measured
which changes them unpredictably
bean counting, wars and political assassinations
are much more understandable
but as we have learned
this way ends in a conundrum
worth mentioning because it too is subject to dissolution
in the world of separate things
ratiocination dispels superstitious dreams
an unimaginable world beyond ratiocination is permeated
by unexplained fields passing through percepts
then concepts
our familiar world is a dream
built with reasonable illusions
provable beyond a shadow of a doubt
beliefs few question
except scientists who have uncovered hints
and people who have gone directly
through hints, doubts and beliefs
seen whole, it is beyond seeing
the whole encompassing all that is and is not
including each part of the reasonable dream
each person, part of the planet, microbe, fly
each star in the sky
the self
an imagined substance of birth and death dissolves
yet there is no end to life and death
hoarding things becomes laughable
hatred dissolves
the baggage of “I” is examined and found empty
lifetimes are emptied
the planet, its problems, peoples and beauties are “I”
how civilization shot itself in the foot
is evident
though the foot still hurts
many use it for business as usual
the vanguard of civilization however
retire empty baggage
CONSCIOUS CHANGE
– one foot in unconscious waters
– another in the ground of reason
our amphibian stage
though obscured in the dust, bustle and noise
of business as usual
is seen directly by some
indirectly by others
though hard to accept by many
as Change affects the planet who will say
that the actions of civilized beings
have not brought suffering
earthly phenomena affect consciousness
consciousness effects Change
drought, rising seas, tornadoes, faster species extinction
are variations on a single theme
as it becomes clear
that we all live together in this world
questions about our cosmic sense are
breezes blowing through cracks in a room
fostering Changes towards harmony
who am I?
will have an obvious answer
accepted by more than just a few
ON WAKING UP
coffee is fine
good to the very last drop
empty cup
back to work
back home and finally some sleep
perhaps to dream
then the universe thing
who dreams?
back to work
a coffee break
who sets the rhythm?
Eons it seems
what if the neighbors were there
until one day waking up with a yawn
“Guess where I've been.”
right here
the coffee is fine
work is an old fashioned word for play
days of master/slave, ruler/subject
are history
this kind of thing was ridiculed
impractical! unprofitable! disrespectful!
and worst of all – idealistic!
in those days it was just a mustard seed
no one thought much of it
let's go out and play
