Thirty years ago, I completed a book of poetry:
PSALMS BEYOND THE SPEED OF LIGHTVARIATIONS ON THE MYTH OF ZEUS AND SEMELE
POETRY FOR THE ATOMIC AGE
As usual, I have an excess of words. The poetry was an expression of my belief in evolution as seen through the metaphor of Zeus and Semele, and based in human acquisition of power over life and death, the atomic power which is capable of destroying life on earth.
But the attainment of this power demands a commensurate growth in consciousness (morality & awareness)to become more equal to the newly begotten physical powers. As Einstein said, “With the splitting of the atom, everything has changed save man’s way of thinking, and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.”
Although atomic energy remains the most dramatic symbol and manifestation of man’s new found powers, we have learned that many of our scientific and physical advances can have a equally devastating effects on life on earth.
Like all life forms, humans are engaged in the process of evolution. And today, the primary thrust of evolution is the evolution of consciousness.
The evolution of consciousness, of necessity, requires an increasing awareness of one’s position in life. The most profound awareness is the recognition of one’s own mortality, of death. A cat or a dog does not wake up in the morning thinking, “Gee, I’m going to die some day!” But we do; this is required by our evolutionary growth.
And therein lies both the rub and the salvation, or, more accurately, the key to evolution.
I hope you’ll follow me below the fold~~~