Alaska’s wildlife is awesome. And so is its railroad.
I mean, once upon a time, about 125 years ago, a few people stood near Seward, looked north at impenetrable forests, immense mountains, deep river gorges, and vast tundras and said:
Yeah, sure, good idea. Let’s build a railroad from here to Fairbanks.
And they did. Not easily. But somehow.
Equipment failed. Financing collapsed. Workers died.
Still, they persevered and finally completed the mind-boggling project—470 miles of iron rails supported by millions of nailed ties, running over hand-built gravel beds.
Awesome.
And I haven’t even gotten to the train itself. That, too, is awesome. Just consider how many steps and missteps it took to build a reliable locomotive.
Birds build nests, bees build hives, beavers build dams, but with all due respect to our awesome fellow creatures, we are the only ones who build trains, planes, and automobiles.
And a whole lot of other cool stuff.
(Yo-yos come to mind.)
We are the human animal. Imaginative. Inventive. Artistic.
And annoying.
We strut upon the earth like gods. And, oh, by the way, we also build bombs.
But let’s set those inconvenient truths aside for the moment and celebrate human creativity.
For example, consider the devices, infrastructure, and personnel it takes to get you to and around Alaska. Because unless you’re Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, or John Muir, you’re not walking into Alaska on foot.
Of course, there are a lot of human accomplishments to celebrate besides plane, trains, automobiles, and yo-yos. I could list a hundred more, but I won’t. I’m sure you have your favorites.
(If you’d like, list a few in the comment window below.)
Yes, there is a time to applaud human ingenuity, but there is also a time to ponder this: Humans are one of (give or take) 1.5 million “known” species on earth. Of those, 1.05 million are insects.
If ants disappeared overnight, the earth would collapse—an ecological catastrophe. There’d be no getting over it.
But if humans disappeared overnight, the earth wouldn’t miss a beat. The earth simply doesn’t need us. We are guests. Yes, we bring a lot of awesome things to the table, but still, we are guests.
We have a welcomed place in the family of things.
It’s a privilege.
It’s okay to be proud.
It’s not okay to be vain.
(Or annoying.)
Consider the ant.
And be humble.
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Boats. All kinds and types!
Your wonderful blog gives one perspective. It also enables humility to emerge, a quality that is sometimes hard to find in our vain culture and times. Carl Sagan also encouraged us to embrace those qualities: “The lifetime of a human being is measured by decades, the lifetime of the Sun is a hundred million times longer. Compared to a star, we are mayflies, fleeting ephemeral creatures who live out their lives in the course of a single day.” To gain an even wider perspective, you might wish to check out his “pale blue dot” on YouTube.
Your note today is a good reminder of what humans have done instead of being caretakers for the earth and one another that we were supposed to do. Ants–I have not appreciated them ever, no matter a Biblical mandate to consider them. ” Proverbs 6:6-9 New International Version (NIV)
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” We need reminders and conviction for appreciating ever bit of this earth—but we certainly have not taken up the responsibility given to humans. Genesis 2:15 ‘Then the Lord God took [a]the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.’ [NKJV]
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” — Albert Einstein
For many years I’ve said, “As frogs go (amphibians in general) so go we humans.”
Years ago a Native American speaker in Estes Park reminded the gathered humans that if we disappeared… the earth wouldn’t miss a beat! It IS a humbling reality and we need to be reminded of it more often and behave more like grateful guests. Thank you Randy for reminding us!
“Inconvenient truths?” Hmm. Sorry, Randy. Can’t let you get away with that one. Humanity is the most dangerous life form on the planet. I also traveled to Alaska in July and the awesome beauty of mist curling over the mountains, Bald Eagles flying by with long, expanded wings and huge Brown Bears feeding on the green grasses and sedges in the meadows brought tears to my eyes. I pray we can leave our paws off of these pristine, precious places. I often wonder how the Great Spirit feels about His creation of the human animal. Hmm?
I’m a big fan of most human inventions, especially my toothbrush and our hand flush toilet. But one I’m most impressed with is the pencil. How’d they get the lead in there, and what is lead anyway? But it’s the things the little pencil has done on a piece of paper—created jottings that entertain, made us think, laugh, even changed the world (for better and worse). You can even use the little thing on a train in Alaska.
Reminds of the Sara Teasdale poem, ‘There Will Come Soft Rains.’ Ray Bradbury used it for his excellent short story of the same name. Humans annihilate themselves and the Earth keeps spinning without a care.
I’m taking the bait on a short list of human accomplishment: MUSIC! And really every form of art (sculpture, painting, literature; Science can be its own kind of art. I’m thinking physics and mathematics.). But music is a pretty spectacular achievement. Don’t know if aliens would dig it, but we muddled humans sure do. It’s in our wiring.
When you wondered how much humans would be missed…I recalled what nature did during Covid when humans stayed home. As one of your readers noted we have not done a good job tending this garden. And at this very moment I see one of the local chipmunks raiding my bird feeder. Something scared it off the feeder and it is now hiding warning of danger.
Love this, my friend. So many truths and bits of wisdom: the value of humility and silliness of hubris, understanding our place in creation. Grateful for all you share with all of us.
“You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.” (Hebrews 2:7)
Despite the blueprint and endorsement for humankind dominance, the ants, oceans, sky, humankind, et.al. still live in a dust-to-stardust universe. Harmonic waves of space would suggest living in harmony is a better path for all aboard spaceship Earth. Batteries not included.
I’ve heard it said that in the West, people have advanced in Material degrees, & in the East we have advanced in Spiritual degrees. When the two come into balance, it will be true progress.
I love the things large & small my fellow readers listed! Arts of all kinds, expressing truth & beauty are my favorites. Storytelling. And simple tools & implements made with loving, knowing hands.
Nature inspires us, the animals teach us. Divinity all around us. And yes, we are guests here.
Your words, experiences & sharing light my journey. Thank you once again, Randy & all here, for a few moments of reflection, perspective & gratitude!
I think rats might miss us. Think they made to the ISS?
Earth herself is a living organism and plays host to humanity. As of late, we’ve been a rather parasitic influence and if we keep on that road, Earth will purge us in order to survive. Luckily, we have the right amount of sentience to change that about ourselves.
That said, a favorite technology of mine is the heat pump/refrigerator. While it doesn’t technically violate the second law of thermodynamics, it certainly is a clever workaround!