In Science There is No Silence

It is an ego kind of day, if I am not careful. Oh, I know there is no satisfying the ego for when I follow its urging, our travels never end but we don’t get anywhere, either.

Meditation has taught me to keep the ego’s chatter in the background rather than front and center. This is particularly helpful on days when words are few but thoughts are one spring canvas after another.

So much possibility, spring–the earth coming into being yet again–but my concern for the planet clouds my celebration. It is not yet Rachel Carson’s “silent spring” but I cannot let my ego lull me into a false one, either.

Now, science is under threat of silence. Without science, a silent spring is assured and for some species already accomplished. That’s discomfiting, and my ego almost goes silent.

I’m not sure we are here to be comfortable, not always, anyway. I know we are here to experience what it is to be human– self-aware, yes–as well, in awe of our place on this planet.

So often, we treat ourselves and our world as if they are not fragile. Each is capable of being lost forever.

Science asks questions, and the longer I live, the more convinced I am that to live is to question. Answers come and go but questions return time and again from different paths. Just because we are familiar with a question does not mean it is asking what it once did.

My ego does not appreciate such subtlety; it seeks the ever-elusive satisfaction and even promises such if I will just….

I will explore the cascade of spring that is in this day, for it is the moment I have but I am mindful of my place on this planet. Mary Oliver said “attention is the beginning of devotion.”

And so it is. In raised voice, may we devote ourselves to science. For if we do not, silent spring is assured.

Aim for Even posts offer equanimity a dose at a time. No day or dose is ever the same, even if the aim is. You may read about the origins of Aim for Even here or on this site’s About page.