In these final days of summer, I’ve been making a special effort to savor every last minute of the season. Year round I like to get up early and go for a run. Not surprisingly, it’s a especially nice to go for an early jog in the summer. No rushing cars. No bustling people. Cool and comfortable. Just a blessed, serene world waking up and me jogging along.
Last week I went out for a run and was treated to a remarkably beautiful sight. A young crescent moon was rising in the early dawn along with a brilliant Venus and nearby Mars. I dashed inside to grab my binoculars and do a little amateur astronomy before work and the sun came up. In the lightening sky, and using my mega-binoculars, I could just make out Venus too was a crescent, perfectly mimicking the crescent moon. To the left was the red, glowering Mars. How many times had that conjunction occurred in my life? Would it occur again in my lifetime? How many humans had witnessed it through history? It was a sublime sight and a great way to start a day.
In the calm beauty of the world waking up it’s a challenge not to become cynical and think everything would be better without humans. The no-humans concept really is a waste of time to dwell upon, and has more to do with self-righteousness than concern for refugees, children, the environment, animals, etc…
I then jogged over to the Y for an early workout. The peaceful early morning calm was destroyed by the oomph-oomph-oomph, pulsing beat of a spin class. Worse. They were spinning to an 80’s pop hit that was a piece of musical debris thirty years ago and hadn’t aged any better. I turned around and ran out of there.
The sun was up. Venus and the crescent moon were fading. Mars was lost in the light blue sky. Cars were roaring by on the street. Drivers were honking at eachother.
It really is a challenge not to think the world would be better without people.
copyright 2015 Magnus Incognito
