In Between

They stand strong in the most Northern region of the planet. The Arctic musk oxen are the last members of a line of ovibovines that first evolved in temperate regions of Asia and adapted to a cold tundra environment late in its evolutionary history. They bear witness to the effects of the anthropogenic devastation, where Arctic temperatures have risen faster than anywhere on earth. They have nowhere else to go. Civilization as we know it has been around for about 6000 years. Are we facing a fate similar to the musk ox?  Some say we are living in the sixth mass extinction now, as evidenced by the more than 18,000 species known to be at risk of disappearing. 

As humans we hold this knowledge deep within ourselves as undigested grief, but placate our dis-ease with excessive consumption of food, media, and other material products. We forget (amnesia) and we become numb (anesthetize).  A shallow hope exists that the advancement of technology will deliver us from a darker future. But the very examination of the impact of this accelerated onslaught of high tech might be where the answer to our salvation might exist. Thomas Berry describes the Ecozoic era, a geologic era that earth is entering, where humans live in a mutually enhancing relationship with Earth and the Earth community. Google, Facebook, Instagram, Snapshot, Twitter bombard our psyche with visual and aural tidbits of information rarely digested for any length of time. Must we enter a digital detox to rediscover our connection to the earth and build relationship and community for the benefit of all beings. We are positioned in a time of history where an unraveling of the fabric of life is occurring and at the same time an evolutionary consciousness is emerging. We are in between.