When I think of the digital divide that is widening with exponential speed, I wonder how we human beings can make sure the virtual worlds we are creating never replace the real world underneath our feet. Will some electronic simulation replace a morning’s walk in the woods or time puttering around your backyard garden? Will children grow up who have never lain upon the warm earth’s breast nor spent time tasting the world around them?
In truth I do not see how the human being can persist without the material world from which it arises and returns. Like the water that pours from the tap, generations forget its origins and thereby render it invisible. When we no longer see the earth that provides for our every need, we may unconsciously render it unable to do so. In fact that is happening now.
The fact that you are reading this blog tells me that you care that we might lose our footing on such an exquisite planet. Welcome to the tribe that will create the bridge between these two worlds and create a harmonious flow between them.
All it takes is a leap of faith—the belief that the tools are at hand, that the God that created all has equipped every living thing with its own set of instructions.
Biology students learn that the difference between an animate and inanimate thing is that the former is self-regulating: it grows, moves, and establishes a dynamic balance among its various functions, and it can respond to external stimuli. That means we are not helpless creatures whose culture, country, or relations control us. Americans are self-determined citizens. We exist in the open space of democracy. To make a life that is grounded in the truth of our circumstance is to embark on a sacred path. What do we need to remember?
Susan Feathers 