A Reflection on Humankind (1)
Manila Times
January 05, 2000
Our species among all theliving creatures is the one with intelligence. It is the species with the ability to think about itself, to bear witness to its own consciousness and -to make records of that consciousness. It is the one and only species that can say, "I think, therefore I am." It is the species with self-awareness.
THIS millennium celebration for which the world prepared for was a moment
when human history, as recorded by Western Civilization, marked the passing of
2,000 years and the arrival of the third millennium. People did the most
extraordinary things to greet this,special moment in their lives. They rushed to
some far off island to be the first to greet the first dawn of the ne
millennium. Others
assembled ifito quasi-religious cults to perform weird rites and rituals, some
to contemplate death while others to celebrate life. Humans are indeed a strange
and contradictory species. But most geared themselves up for a great party, a
non-stop millennium marathon of organized orgies and to dance the night away
into the dawn of a new 1,000 years of human history.
Few were in any state to think about what it all means. Those who can recall
and understand the significance of these passing milestone, of human
civilization will have something to mourn and to celebrate. It is timely to take
time Out and think about who and what we are, where we have come from and what
we might become.
Much as we would like to believe that the distinguishing feature of humankind is
rationality, creativity, compassion, kindness and love, the evidence of the past
two thousand years proves it to be otherwise. Despite the unfailing.efforts of
so many, inspired by religious principles and rationality, to implant these
values among humankind, aggressiveness, violence, hatred, greed and cruelty has
prevailed.Despite the striving of so many to change the human behavior during
the past 2,000years since the birth of Jesus Christ, it seems that the evolution
of the human species from aggressive destroyer to preserver and compassionate
guardian of all life has yet to come about in a way that can transform the
majority of humans. The values and principles taught by Jesus Christ, (from
whose birthday the Western calendar begins) are still struggling to find a firm
foothold in the consciousness and action, of
the majority of humankind .
Jesus brought values of forgiveness, understanding, faithfulness, trust and
truth to humankind and it seems that evil has yet to be vanquished by goodness.
Yet what a dark and evil world it would help without such redeeming values,
principles and beliefs. The message that humans could change the world by freely
choosing to
embrace and practice these values, enter into different respectful relationships
with each other is something to celebrate. The reality that so few have embraced
these values, is a matter to mourn.
Two thousand years have passed since that one definitive historical event which so profoundly changed the world, the birth of Jesus Christ and the,spread of his simple but profound teaching. We ouiht to look back to see from wbere we have come, tryto understand what we are and look forward to what can yet come to pass. We can celebrate the reality that we are intelligent beings and have the ability to know it.
Western civilization began the calendar that measures and numbers and days,
hers months and years during which great changes took place. History is the
record of change. Humankind has meticulously noted down in . various ways, from
save painting to illuminated scripts to digital imaging the thoughts and acts
and events that have brought about change and discovered that the one constant
and
unchanging phenomena that has never changed, is the reality of change itself. It
is inevitable, it is constant,and it is unstoppable.
Humans have always contemplated the universe and sought to understand from where it came and from where and, what force human conscious itself came from. Did it arise from the moment of creation, in that blinding cataclysmic event some 14 billion light years ago when matter exploded into the cosmos? We are part of that cosmos , wecame from it and we are in it and we are its children.
Since the creation of the universe and the formation of the solar system an environment came to be and life, became possible. The evolution of life on planet earth gave rise to our species, over a period of million of years. This is the one species, the humankind, to which you and I belong. It has, made the most far reaching and profound change to the planet.
Our species among all the living creature is the one with intelligence. It is the species with the ability to think about itself, to bear witness to its own consciousness and to make records of that consciousness. it is the one and only species that can say, "I think, therefore I am.' It is the species,with selfawareness. The human intelligence reflects and contemplates it own origins and the origins of the universe, the"womb of human intelligence. It reaches to the heavens to understand how it as a species came to be and we can say another astonishing truth one that could be arrogant and product of human pride, that it is through human consciousness the universe reflects and-contemplates its own self.
