Humans Pay To Live And It’s Not Natural
You have been lying to yourself for a long time now. Somewhere, something happened, and it made you forget. You forgot who you are, you forgot where you came from, and you forgot why you are here. The answer stares fiercely back at you in the mirror daily, but the message goes missed. You have forgotten how to live.
Humans are the only species that pay to live on earth. This is a planet suspended in space that will outlive us all. It existed before us and is one of billions like it in motion in the universe. It is our home. Like siblings, we were all born here and are getting to know our new family. It belongs no more to me than it does to you. Unfortunately, most of us have forgotten this.
I am going to present it simply. A bird never pays another bird in order to build a nest in a tree. A lion never needs a passport when he wants to visit another part of his jungle, and a fish damn well is not going to pay any taxes on the portion of the ocean that he is occupying. These are all absurd ideas.
Being alive is one thing, yet living is entirely another. Your time is your wealth. There is nothing more important than the moment that you have right now. Slap yourself until you understand that. Now, these moments lined up end-to-end make up the movie that is your life.
The sad reality is that we sell our moments. We sell our moments in order to eat. We sell our moments so that we can have shelter. We sell our moments thinking that there will always be another. This is your moment. Take it. Realize that the next moment, and the moment after that are yours and there are no boundaries.
The freedoms to travel, explore, learn and build are a birthright. Borders, hierarchies, and boundaries are as imaginary as money. What exists is a creation that was here before us and is lent to us on borrowed time. We all have the right, and the responsibility to use, care for, and improve our home. Every single mountain, glacier, sand dune, palm tree and river is yours. Every creation, building and great idea is ours. What we don’t realize is that we have this home for a flash of a moment in time – together.
It is like a giant Polaroid in time. The earth is in the background, with each and every single one of us in the family photograph. The picture flutters to the ground as it falls from the front of the camera. By the time that it hits the ground, our moment is gone, and the camera has taken another picture. Tragically, we spent the entire fall competing with one another for where we would stand in the picture. We miss the entire experience.
Societies exist because we enjoy being around each other. We love to share our moments. There is a powerful collective energy when we all get together. It does not need to be about profits. It does not need to be about prophets.
The solution is simple: Stop. Stop and think about what you are doing. Does it make any sense? Does it feel like there is a little more to the movie? As John Lennon bravely sang, “You might say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday that you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.”
#DREAMER