CreatEvolution: by Koadi
It started out a typical day, like any other along the path of your existence. As you’re searching for a bite to eat, you are pulled out from your home by a being many times your size. After laying you down and constraining you, they begin poking and probing you. They search inside your mouth, and examine your genitals, taking measurements beyond your comprehension. Please take a moment to fully connect with this scene. Are you experiencing a fear of the unknown? Perhaps by this point any fear is irrelevant, because your existence is no longer in your own control.
Chances are, aliens have not personally abducted you, but it is a strong cultural narrative nonetheless. Did the classic alien abduction story come from some combination of personal accounts, creative imagination, or science-fiction media fantasies running wild? Has the cultural construction of extra-terrestrial beings influenced your belief in their existence? An artistic visionary once told me “[anything] exists once we perceive it.” So whose story is this?
This alien abduction scene is in fact an account of scientific research being conducted on an alligator, seen in a documentary titled Cuba: The Accidental Eden. Perhaps we have created this collective perception of aliens through the evolution of our relationship with other species. Evidence suggests that humans have a long history of decimating other species. The niche that humans have created as controllers of the planet has evolved into climate catastrophe and widespread extinctions of living beings.
Even the phrase human nature implies that we are inherently different than the rest of the world we inhabit. As evident as this claim seems to be, perhaps it too is the result of the created evolution of our perception; or are we the aliens in an environment that we cannot fully relate to? It is no coincidence that our perceived fear of aliens mirrors the way we relate to species that we understand as alien. At what point did the human ego detach from the world of its existence: was there a specific moment in history that created this anthropocentric mindset, or has our culture evolved to reflect these values? Will our definition of alien change as we begin to colonize mars in the near future? And finally, does this imply anything about the origins of our species?
There is a thick gray line separating creation and evolution, with profound implications towards our perceived worldview. Countless political and social policies have been trapped in a standstill as extremists on each side of the creation vs. evolution debate attempt to spread their own philosophy upon the masses. As I have never heard a logical explanation as to whether the chicken or egg came first, my own philosophy points towards creation and evolution being their own dynamic forces, each having a significant influence on the entirety of our shared reality. Think of some of these systemic practices that humans have collectively developed over the years: animal farming, climate change, slavery, and genocide… are these destructive actions created by definite forces, or are they outcomes of the evolution of human nature?
Over time, forces of creation and evolution revolve around each other in a shapeless flux of feedback loops. Changes are created as niches present themselves, and this continual process becomes evolution – revolution. For us Humans to evolve as a species, we must create changes as these niches present themselves. Given the state of the world as a result of our collective human impact on the environment, many opportunities exist to reevaluate our collective values, and act to balance human impacts upon the natural environment. Once we have established our values and priorities, we can set progressive intentions for future projects. These projects will create the evolution of our species as their effects ripple out over time.
Personally, my values boil down to love and life, and my priorities are in providing life’s essentials: water, food, shelter, clothing, and community. Localizing production of these resources could promote community development and well being by providing security for living inhabitants. Food forests are one such project that would allow us to recreate our evolutionary process, and set a precedent for sustainable community models. It would be a relatively easy task to begin growing edible plants in unexpected places around town. Public parks could become forests of edible food, which could act as a catalyst for creating public housing while promoting community involvement in public spaces. Other resources such as hemp, bamboo, sheep, or goats could simultaneously provide ecosystem services while being processed into food, textiles, or building materials. The idea of a public freeshare for life’s necessities holds potential beyond my imagination…
To actively design the evolution of our future means attempting to produce the biggest results from the smallest changes. Consider the implications of growing one edible plant this season, now consider convincing a friend to do the same, and they convince another friend… Imagine all of the calories grown from a luscious and dynamic garden space; and now imagine not a home garden, but a forest of edible plants publically managed in a park space. How far can you take this projection? Would it be possible to feed a whole town? Could we feed the entire world? What small changes can you create to influence the evolution of human progress?
Again, the biggest results come from the smallest changes. Acts such as self-care, empathetic listening, creative exploration, and critical thinking are a crucial step in the individuation process that will allow our species to collectively find a balance to live in symbiosis with our natural environment. If our collective culture has evolved to view humans as separate from the rest of the world, then we are capable of realizing ourselves to be woven in to the web of all relations. This shift in understanding will be a relatively small point of creation, with the potential to dramatically shift our evolutionary path. The real question is not the extent of our imagination, but of what steps it will take to create progressive evolution. What can you create today that will positively impact future generations? It is up to us all to create the world we wish to inhabit, then rinse, repeat,, and revolve… we evolve through every single rEvolution
Explorations of Resilience 