Maybe the Creator's crowning
achievement on Earth so far is that some of us sometimes reflect back on the
Creative Force out of which everything has sprung so rambunctiously and
elegantly, recognize the beauty in it all, and feel awe and honor to be part of
it.
Astronomers, geologists and
biologists can tell us approximately how long ago each of the first five
miracles occurred. The First Miracle came about approximately 4.8 billion years
ago, if I remember correctly the last figures I saw, and the Third maybe 4.3
billion, and then, if self consciousness arose with the first hominids, the Fifth
Miracle ignited possibly 35 million years ago.
I think that The Sixth Miracle is
occurring just now -- "now" being the last few millennia. This
blossoming is taking place as a greater and greater percentage of us Homo sapiens, at least sometimes, at least
briefly, project our minds beyond thoughts dealing with the daily maintenance
and navigation of our bodies -- the hurting feet, the mechanics of acquiring
mates, power and status, etc.
The Sixth Miracle flashes into
being whenever any one of us reflects on the Cosmos, the selfless and beautiful
abstract patterns in music and art, the pale-orange broomsedge field lightly
touched with frost at dawn as the White-throated Sparrow sings its "I'm
here" song... and is moved to emotion.
*****
99.97% AND A QUESTION
The other day a scientist being
interviewed on National Public Radio made the point that all humans on Earth
share about 99.97% of their genetic makeup. Even some 98% of our genes are the
same as those found in chimpanzees.
These numbers are profoundly
important, and I think every schoolchild should be encouraged to think about
their implications.
Technically, the concept is pretty
simple. Our genetic makeup consists of encoded information. The encoded
information is a set of instructions on how to put chemicals together to keep
life going.