The Sun Never Sets

The sun never sets. The earth may turn but the sun never sets. The moon never rises or changes phases. Tides may rise but the moon never does, moon and earth merely dance together. Every sunset, every new moon is an illusion; fig newtons of my imagination, mere artifacts of how I see the world from where I sit. My ancestors took this evidence as proof certain that the sun does in fact rise and that the moon does change phases. Often, they killed or cast out those who tried to say otherwise. They acted on incomplete information. Clearly the truth requires more than the evidence that is readily available to me. Clearly my perception of things is limited. Clearly, if I am to see beyond the illusion of sunsets and moon phases I must begin by accepting nothing on face value.

I think life is like that. I assume that I can tell living (sentient) from dead (non-sentient) things in the world. I see a rock and say, "That is not sentient, it is a dead thing," so I feel no remorse when I kick it down the road, forever separating it from the place it has occupied for days, weeks, years or even longer. Based on current evidence, the probability is that the rock is in fact not sentient. It has none of the basic requirements necessary for it to be classified as a feeling being. But stating a probability is the best I can do. I am still learning. Someday, I could look back on my act of kicking the rock as a thoughtless crime against a sentient being. Looking at things in today's view, it seems very unlikely that this is the case but I must remain open.

The same goes for the question of when life begins and when it ends. I see a baby and rejoice at the beginning of new life. I see a corpse and I mourn the death of a loved one. But I'll bet that is simply my take, my point of view once more. The real phenomena of life and death likely are well beyond my poor ability to perceive them. I can watch a baby being born, or if I am lucky be there to participate in its conception. But this experience is not proof certain that the beginning did not come earlier still. I can watch a "dead" body decay into its component parts, smaller and smaller pieces breaking down into yet smaller ones until eventually only atoms are left. Even these at some great distant day will become sub atomic particles. My perception of this broad play is limited to tiny sliver of time. And my perception of time itself is only partial.

My ancestors were certain that the sun set and that the moon went through phases. They were right, and they were wrong. They were right to take action using the best information they had at the time. Their information was wrong. This is natural, but some of them refused to accept new information when it became available. Some of them fought against learning more about life. I have done this. I have held onto old beliefs and actions long past the time when they were useful to me and those around me. When I did so I became more and more closed in, more and more afraid of change, less and less tolerant and able to show compassion. For me, being human, being alive, requires me to question, verify and question again. Some tell me that I should accept things without questioning them. I do not understand this point of view. It seems guaranteed to keep me in ignorance. Perhaps that is a state of bliss for some, but it is not helpful to me. Ignorance did not cure my cancer. Ignorance did not give me the cup of coffee I drank this morning. Ignorance will not allow me to reach out and embrace the wonder and diversity of life.