of bacteria as there are human cells in the body.
Think about that. It implies that the entire human being
is but 1/10th of its actual biomass - which is 90% bacteria.
i.e, We are not "ourselves" so much as we are appendages of bacteria.
We are bacteria's arms and legs. We are bacteria's eyes.
We are bacteria's ears, noses, and tongues.
We are bacteria's thumbs.
The arena of planet earth offers many different views from many different perspectives. Yet one perspective - the one further backed away - can better depict the whole in a more proper light. One such perspective is of a war being waged on this planet between the Eukaryotes (ourselves, animals, plants, fungi) and the Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea -which lack a cell nucleus). Are the Prokaryotes the Ancient Ones? I'd wager it's a matter of some controversy whether they rule this earth by fully manipulating us Eukaryotes through every stage of our evolution - necessarily so, for the Prokaryote's continued survival - perpetually keeping us in check as the slaves to their mastery over us. Or, as common understanding would have it, is it that we Eukaryotes are the proper rulers of this domain, and must perforce control the older order of Prokaryotes in order that we maintain our survival and superiority over the rest of creation? In the interest of avoiding assumptions as well as accepting a "worse case scenario" primarily, I tend to give more credence to the former theory, that not only might we be fully subservient to the needs of the Prokaryotes, but indeed - - that the illusion of our glorified individuality may not merely end with our individual deaths, but rather -- and more to the point -- it may begin with the misperception that "we" are the "protagonists" on this planetary stage. Instead, I find it not unreasonable to assume that the Prokaryotes may be the true protagonists, and furthermore, we human beings may be tantamount to nothing more than their "fingers"; that is, we may merely be complex appendages wholly compliant to the Prokaryote's greater order of design and intention. At least, from where I stand, such humble musings as these, about our potential true role in the overall scheme of things, can do no harm, and furthermore, may in fact benefit us as a race. To take the analogy of a war between the Prokaryotes and the Eukaryotes further - - such ruminations as these might even yield the necessary information by which such a war might be settled diplomatically, and a more balanced symbiosis achieved between the two camps. Such musings may even reveal to us that in fact, no such war is taking place other than through the biased filter of our perceptions; and that we may in fact be nothing more than Prokaryotes further along their pathway of evolution. We must strive to prioritize seperating our false illusions from the real perceptions. Thus far in my own observations, I have concluded, for now, that among the most threatening of false illusions, is our misperception that we as a species could possibly be "seperate" from the rest of life. Humanity represents but ten percent of a biomass that is ninety percent bacteria. The most obvious conclusion to come to, is that we as a species are still in our infancy. However, this conclusion may be off base by a significant magnitude: the truth may turn out to be not so much that we yet remain in our infancy, but that indeed, we may still remain at an early stage of our fetal development. Evidence seems to be building by the decade that what we are to become has even yet to be born. If you ask me, here on this planet earth, humanity is still dreaming from the womb.
dreaming from the womb... i like that.
ReplyDeleteShaun, you are freakin brilliant. Love your flow and the knowledge you, not only possess but, are willing to speculate from multiple arenas of thought. Excellent piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, 'Anonymous' (I know who you are;) - - and I'm grateful for your having taken the trouble to comment, here. (See U at the Ruckus!;)
ReplyDeleteHere's a direct link to a video I recorded later that day, at the Ruckus:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7NSdTAocKg
Copy and paste, or try this:
RuCkUs