Excerpt from “The Vision”
by David Pike

“We need to remove the question of how we run the world. What about a world that doesn’t need any running at all?”

– John Zerzan

The world is changing. The world has always been changing; every life ever to grace the surface of this planet has undergone change. It has been observed that change is the only constant, the only sure bet out there, and in my eyes, this is good, change is good.

Being human is to be a piece of this ever changing universe, a piece of the puzzling species we call humanity, a curious thread of conception amongst the infinite forms of consciousness comprising the web of life.

Humanity has changed, again and again; we have adapted to survive through the storm of existence, weather the trials of history, and we have endured. Ancient civilizations have reached remarkable achievement, and then fallen away into the mysterious haze of time, remarkably; we have risen again and again from the ruins of destruction. Today we can only struggle to imagine the lives of those millions of people who have lived and died before us – we can only wonder if the emotions and experiences that they felt during their lives were much the same as our own.

If this ever flowing universe of change contains within it the twisting timeline of human history, then every turn and spiral, dive and rise, corner and angle represents a change within the human existence and human experience. This line might look like a bolt of lightening, or a winding river, but definitely not an arrow or a highway. We’ve been there and back again, around the block, and what have we learned? Certainly not enough – We haven’t yet learned enough to live in simple peace and harmony on this little blue globe in space. Some with open eyes have learned that we’re actually in a lot of trouble; we’re poisoning the planet, our population is rising exponentially, and we’ve learned that we’re scared.

Millions of people today are aware of the ecological dangers that humanity has brought upon itself through carelessness, greed or whatever other forces have led us down this path. So ironic is it that humanity has conquered nearly all other forms of life which pose a threat to our survival, only to find that we ourselves are our single greatest threat to our continued existence. For those who have committed enough thought into this topic, you may have arrived at the unfortunate realization that through environmental destruction assisted by overpopulation, or atomic annihilation assisted by greed and ignorance, we very well may commit cultural suicide, an end to humanity as we know it.

If ever you have been one of the millions of people who has arrived at this realization, first take heart in the knowledge that you are not alone, these thoughts are prevalent on a global scale, and secondly know that work is being done in other directions of destiny as you read this sentence.

Sadly enough, the impending doom which we feel regarding the future of humanity accounts for a severe case of cultural depression, millions if not billions of people who have realized that we just might be screwed, and everything may likely get worse from here on out. Feelings of impending doom and cultural depression aren’t anything that I want to mess around with. For years I have found myself struggling as an environmentalist in a world bent on cultural suicide, and for years I have searched for the peace of mind to continue my struggle without giving in to despair.

So deep is our feeling of cultural despair that today the word “hope” seems a distant dream of ages past, with a meaning lost somewhere within our collective cultural memory. Where have the ages gone when we anticipated the bright future of humanity? Lost now in failed plans; hope lies somewhere now beneath the rubble and misery of industrial and technological disappointments. What once was revered has led us to poisoned waters, smoky skies, wastelands of concrete and the grinding gears of war. The threads of hope have been worn thin, but so delicate is the tapestry we began long ago.

We are changers, shape shifters, adapters; we have and will continue to struggle on through anything that happens to fall into our lives. When boulders and trees fall into our path, we are quick to find a way around. But now we find we are faced with a barrier unlike anything we have ever seen; at the top of this rollercoaster ride we look down in horror at a wall of rock. I wonder; will the lightening strike path of human existence crack through this rock of despair? Just how strong are these threads we grasp, and where will they lead us if we follow them?

Fortunately; the story is still untold and tomorrow is a blank page. Blessed hope, hold the thread in your hand and follow it. If we are to survive in this world we all must remember the anticipation of a future that is brighter than our present.

David Pike recently graduated from Fairhaven College with a concentration titled “Writing in Cultural Ecology.”