HAVE YOU EVER BEEN

“‘Lately, I’ve been torn between two schools of thought. On the one hand, I feel a deep connection with nature and believe that we were meant to live in harmony with it. But on the other hand, I wonder if it was meant as a stepping stone for our species. A foundation for us to evolve into something beyond our current comprehension.’ ‘Where are these schools you speak of?’ ‘In my mind.’ ‘Hmph..’ ‘On the first hand, it seems we’re meant to stay the course with nature. And by living harmoniously with it, we pass down only the necessities to survive to the generations that will come after us. As it has been for so many generations before us.’ ‘That sounds reasonable.’ ‘Then on the second hand, it seems that innovation and knowledge is more important. We’ve made so many leaps in the past thousand years alone, in countless fields. Seemingly unlocking so many secrets to the universe at exponential rates. I feel like we’re on the precipice of something radically life-changing for all humankind. We just have to keep going.’ ‘That sounds reasonable, too. Could it be both?’ ‘But then on my third hand, a third school of thought, I have a feeling that our whole existence is a mirage created by an unknown entity and that none of this truly matters. It doesn’t matter which school I choose, it all leads to the same place.’ ‘What place is that?’ ‘Maybe the beginning. I don’t know, maybe nowhere? What do you think?’ ‘I don’t know either. I never went to these schools.’”