The Earth and its Fullness

Who owns the earth?

Ancient cultures assumed it was given to us by a caretaker from a spiritual realm. It makes sense. Surely they knew they didn’t create it, so it had to be bequeathed to them from someone.

And here is where my story begins.

From what I have read, we were given a planet from a beneficent creator who willed its use for good. Evil seems to have crept in and destroyed the original intent, and therein lies our discontent and suffering.

The cosmological depictions throughout the world have an amazing consistency (not sure why) but their descriptions involve more than the mere empirical view–they contain details about us. Yes, we the ones who look upon creation and ponder. I am not certain how sloths and aardvarks view their world. We’ll probably never know.

But we do have accounts that predate written language, and they tell us quite a bit about ourselves. We know that love is the greatest gift and that it costs nothing but a willing heart. We’ve come to understand the value of life and mourn the death of an innocent. And that we owe gratitude for the wonderful home we have.

So on these long dark nights as we look at the sky, wonder fills us and we can join in the ancient song and cry out excelsior!