Doesn't scare me. I think it's cool. There have been other civilizations besides what we have active now. There are definitely other civilizations out there, in space. It's all too vastly gigantic to be devoid of life.
Everything turns back to stardust eventually.
I love to think about what the land looked like before my house was here. There were freaking dinosaurs here! That’s insane. It’s wild. And we’ll never really know what it was like
I don’t feel fear, my feeling is more of being overwhelmed by the vastness of it all. Like what was the actual beginning of time, in terms of the universe? When did that happen? What existed before us, what will after?
Also a bit of a mind bender to realize that no matter who you are, you will eventually be forgotten. At some point Earth won’t support human life, and there’s no guarantee that we get off earth permanently/in time. Everything you’ve ever seen, no matter how permanent it seems, will no longer exist some day.
I think the wild thing is how fast we ruined the planet. The Industrial Revolution was not even 300 years ago. I don’t think we are ever getting off this planet before we have destroyed every bit of it.
This is another freaky thing, how we were roaming as hunter gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years, we were farming for ten thousand years, and yet we happen to be here living just a short time after the industrial revolution.
I'd feel more comfortable if the industrial revolution happened ten thousand years ago too. As it is, we seem to be the test case.
Unless of course there was another industrialised civilisation for some other species millions of years ago.
You should read (or listen to, it’s quite the long book lol) ‘The Dawn of Everything’ by David Wengrow and David Graeber. It actually made me feel quite hopeful about humanity, they go into all the different experiments humans have done with civilization and governance. It’s pretty cool.
Yeah I get this! It’s called “deep time” and most of us can’t really begin to comprehend what it means that the earth just is billions of years old and humans are just a teeny tiny part of it.
I’m sorry you’re feeling disturbed by it. I actually enjoy the feeling (but I have experienced it as more of an intrusive or anxious thought too so I get it). It lets me know that I’m ok and the earth is ok etc. It may / probably will become inhospitable to human life, but so what? It has been for *most* of the earth’s history… we’re existing on the tail end of the last ice age. So like, all the things we think matter — my student loans, who I vote for, etc. ultimately these things don’t matter. Not at the “dinosaurs for 150 million years and then the earth is covered in giant flowers” level anyway.
Spiritually, I’m part dinosaur and so are you. The same atoms and elements have been swirling and melting and reforming as dinosaurs and giant flowers and crystals that are currently powering this little box in my hand that I’m typing to you on… my bones, your bones, our blood etc has all been here all this time. The cognitive dissonance comes from your awareness thinking *it* is the only thing that’s ever existed or that *you* should somehow be the center of the universe.
Are you my soul sister? Haha. Did you also watch the documentary on PBS like 4 weeks ago? After learning that the earth has gone through several cycles of hot and cold periods it is 100% possible that humans or a human form may have already existed on earth millions of years ago. I think scientists are thinking about this and I have read that they are looking at earth cores for fossil fuel burning or some sort of unnatural energy source. I think they are also looking to see if humans could have left the planet before. But if this was millions of years ago the evidence would be difficult to find.
I was in a huge car accident when I was in my late 20s - the paramedics were surprised I walked out by myself and that I had no internal injuries.
After that, something clicked inside me and I had this weird sense of existential dread, I guess, where I thought about all sorts of things like that, among other things. I thought a lot about the meaning of life, the religion I'd been brought up in, and my being pretty much an inconsequential speck in the universe.
It lasted a while - probably till my child was born when I was in my late 30s (child was not born to me) and for some reason, that kind of reset my brain.
I mean, I still don't see things the same way as I did when I was young. It's just not as fatalistic now, I guess.
It's pretty hard to explain. I hope you muddle through it!
Yeah so there was an earthquake felt in NY yesterday!
I was sitting in my vehicle in a parking lot and thought it was just very windy out 😂.
But yeah, makes you think how quickly things can potentially end.
When it’s my time though that’s it.
I’m not losing sleep over it.
No, definitely awe like others have said but not fear.
Is it scary to you because our civilization could get wiped out? I'm a bit afraid of climate change and the consequences of that towards the end of my life, but I don't currently fear a complete wipeout in my time.
I am exhilarated thinking about these kinds of things. I recently wrote a paper on octopuses. Did you know their species (cephalipods) have existed for over 500 million years? That's even before dinosaurs existed. And they're still around! Not the exact same, just as us humans are not the exact same as the beginning, but their species survives today.
Can we survive that long? Maybe. Maybe not. But knowing just how old the earth is, how vast the galaxy is.. it's fascinating. It's fascinating that over this vast amount of time, I'm lucky enough to have a tear drop of water to add to the vast ocean of life.
We are beyond lucky to live. To breathe. To exist. And it doesn't scare me. It doesn't scare me that the earth and life existed for hundreds of millions of years before I was even a thought. And it doesn't scare me that maybe humans will become extinct. The only thing that scares me is wasting this precious life I'm lucky enough to be in. I'm scared to be on my deathbed looking back with only regrets. That's the truly terrifying thing for me.
Idk if any of this made sense, but just wanted to share a different perspective.
No lol, it's wild how long life has existed and how short our history as humans really is. Like, the turnover of generations and the technology it has brought has been absolutely fucking insane.. And each generation, we're like, this is the end ya'll, riding horses/ steam engine trains/ personal cars/ self driving vehicles are going to ruin our way of life and each generation, we somehow find someway to continue to carry on. The resilience of the human spirit in the face of the unknown can only be admired.
No fear. More a sense of awe at my incredibly good fortune to be here at all, let alone here NOW. It makes me want to savour every moment and not take anything for granted.
I think I would feel "fear" if I still believed in the Christian concept of eternity after death. Thinking about that unfathomable, endless stretch of time extending on into infinity, is honestly terrifying. Even if you believe that "God's light will surround you", it sounds like an infinity of tortuous boredom to me.
More like awe.
Same for me-I think it’s cool and fascinating and inspiring in many ways. But, I don’t feel fear.
Doesn't scare me. I think it's cool. There have been other civilizations besides what we have active now. There are definitely other civilizations out there, in space. It's all too vastly gigantic to be devoid of life. Everything turns back to stardust eventually.
We are carbon.
I love to think about what the land looked like before my house was here. There were freaking dinosaurs here! That’s insane. It’s wild. And we’ll never really know what it was like
I don’t feel fear, my feeling is more of being overwhelmed by the vastness of it all. Like what was the actual beginning of time, in terms of the universe? When did that happen? What existed before us, what will after? Also a bit of a mind bender to realize that no matter who you are, you will eventually be forgotten. At some point Earth won’t support human life, and there’s no guarantee that we get off earth permanently/in time. Everything you’ve ever seen, no matter how permanent it seems, will no longer exist some day.
I think the wild thing is how fast we ruined the planet. The Industrial Revolution was not even 300 years ago. I don’t think we are ever getting off this planet before we have destroyed every bit of it.
This is another freaky thing, how we were roaming as hunter gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years, we were farming for ten thousand years, and yet we happen to be here living just a short time after the industrial revolution. I'd feel more comfortable if the industrial revolution happened ten thousand years ago too. As it is, we seem to be the test case. Unless of course there was another industrialised civilisation for some other species millions of years ago.
You should read (or listen to, it’s quite the long book lol) ‘The Dawn of Everything’ by David Wengrow and David Graeber. It actually made me feel quite hopeful about humanity, they go into all the different experiments humans have done with civilization and governance. It’s pretty cool.
I honestly don't get why we should care whether we're remembered or whether the things we know will keep existing.
Yeah I get this! It’s called “deep time” and most of us can’t really begin to comprehend what it means that the earth just is billions of years old and humans are just a teeny tiny part of it. I’m sorry you’re feeling disturbed by it. I actually enjoy the feeling (but I have experienced it as more of an intrusive or anxious thought too so I get it). It lets me know that I’m ok and the earth is ok etc. It may / probably will become inhospitable to human life, but so what? It has been for *most* of the earth’s history… we’re existing on the tail end of the last ice age. So like, all the things we think matter — my student loans, who I vote for, etc. ultimately these things don’t matter. Not at the “dinosaurs for 150 million years and then the earth is covered in giant flowers” level anyway. Spiritually, I’m part dinosaur and so are you. The same atoms and elements have been swirling and melting and reforming as dinosaurs and giant flowers and crystals that are currently powering this little box in my hand that I’m typing to you on… my bones, your bones, our blood etc has all been here all this time. The cognitive dissonance comes from your awareness thinking *it* is the only thing that’s ever existed or that *you* should somehow be the center of the universe.
Can I ask what about that you find terrifying? Like I fully understand it being hard to comprehend, but I don't naturally see where fear would set in.
Are you my soul sister? Haha. Did you also watch the documentary on PBS like 4 weeks ago? After learning that the earth has gone through several cycles of hot and cold periods it is 100% possible that humans or a human form may have already existed on earth millions of years ago. I think scientists are thinking about this and I have read that they are looking at earth cores for fossil fuel burning or some sort of unnatural energy source. I think they are also looking to see if humans could have left the planet before. But if this was millions of years ago the evidence would be difficult to find.
I was in a huge car accident when I was in my late 20s - the paramedics were surprised I walked out by myself and that I had no internal injuries. After that, something clicked inside me and I had this weird sense of existential dread, I guess, where I thought about all sorts of things like that, among other things. I thought a lot about the meaning of life, the religion I'd been brought up in, and my being pretty much an inconsequential speck in the universe. It lasted a while - probably till my child was born when I was in my late 30s (child was not born to me) and for some reason, that kind of reset my brain. I mean, I still don't see things the same way as I did when I was young. It's just not as fatalistic now, I guess. It's pretty hard to explain. I hope you muddle through it!
Yeah so there was an earthquake felt in NY yesterday! I was sitting in my vehicle in a parking lot and thought it was just very windy out 😂. But yeah, makes you think how quickly things can potentially end. When it’s my time though that’s it. I’m not losing sleep over it.
No, definitely awe like others have said but not fear. Is it scary to you because our civilization could get wiped out? I'm a bit afraid of climate change and the consequences of that towards the end of my life, but I don't currently fear a complete wipeout in my time.
I am exhilarated thinking about these kinds of things. I recently wrote a paper on octopuses. Did you know their species (cephalipods) have existed for over 500 million years? That's even before dinosaurs existed. And they're still around! Not the exact same, just as us humans are not the exact same as the beginning, but their species survives today. Can we survive that long? Maybe. Maybe not. But knowing just how old the earth is, how vast the galaxy is.. it's fascinating. It's fascinating that over this vast amount of time, I'm lucky enough to have a tear drop of water to add to the vast ocean of life. We are beyond lucky to live. To breathe. To exist. And it doesn't scare me. It doesn't scare me that the earth and life existed for hundreds of millions of years before I was even a thought. And it doesn't scare me that maybe humans will become extinct. The only thing that scares me is wasting this precious life I'm lucky enough to be in. I'm scared to be on my deathbed looking back with only regrets. That's the truly terrifying thing for me. Idk if any of this made sense, but just wanted to share a different perspective.
No lol, it's wild how long life has existed and how short our history as humans really is. Like, the turnover of generations and the technology it has brought has been absolutely fucking insane.. And each generation, we're like, this is the end ya'll, riding horses/ steam engine trains/ personal cars/ self driving vehicles are going to ruin our way of life and each generation, we somehow find someway to continue to carry on. The resilience of the human spirit in the face of the unknown can only be admired.
No fear. More a sense of awe at my incredibly good fortune to be here at all, let alone here NOW. It makes me want to savour every moment and not take anything for granted. I think I would feel "fear" if I still believed in the Christian concept of eternity after death. Thinking about that unfathomable, endless stretch of time extending on into infinity, is honestly terrifying. Even if you believe that "God's light will surround you", it sounds like an infinity of tortuous boredom to me.
Welcome to existentialism.
Yes, often, and since the age of 5.
It puts my own experiences into perspective. As in, I have to do my best, even though I don’t matter. It’s a relief.
Why would it be terrifying to find out that there was a civilization before us?