Beyond

The greatest danger to our future is apathy.
– Jane Goodall

Like a poisonous snake slithers, apathy seeps into your veins undetected. The venom induces a flesh eating disease of the mind, so flat line motivation, lack of emotion and dulled desire go viral. I’ve heard a thousand symptomatic spins from the apathetic (I know because I’ve spun a few) – stealthy phrases like I’m not quite there, as soon as I finish the…I’m on it, I’m thinking, processing, pretty busy, not feeling it. Who cares? In case you ever experience symptoms of apathy or succumb to the drip-drip of its deadly toxin, stop fiddling with your iPhone – and gaze up in the night sky as the constellations drift east to west, leap over black holes, or climb into the V of an acacia tree and watch the sun melt into the beyond. 

In my opinion, there is no aspect of reality beyond the reach of the human mind.
– Stephen Hawking

I envision a multitude of sparkling particles of stardust swirling in infinity since the death of physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking at the age of 76. Trapped in a deteriorating body, Hawking’s mental faculties expanded exponentially with time and space. He discovered “black holes ain’t so black,” they actually glow (Hawking’s radiation), and instead of sucking up all surrounding matter and expanding, they can shrink or boil away. “Black holes are not the eternal prisons they were once thought,” he said. “Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly come out in another universe. If you feel you are trapped in a black hole, don’t give up. There is a way out.” Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1963, and given only three years to live, Hawking defied medical expectations for five more decades. In every way, he lived beyond. 

If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.
– Jane Goodall

Last week to ward off a wave of apathy, in between stargazing and contemplating the cosmos, I steeped myself in the lush cinematography of Jane, the documentary of Jane Goodall by award-winning director Brett Morgen, set to orchestral sounds by Philip Glass. As a young girl in England in the 1940s, Jane dreamed of living beyond with wild animals in Africa. At 26, on the invitation of Louis Leakey, with no money, no training or credentials, Goodall embarked on a mission to Gombe, Tanzania that would transform our understanding of what it means to be human. Immersing herself in the habitat of the chimpanzees, she not only endured extreme heat, thunderstorms, scorpions creeping around her tent, and at times violent primates, but also loneliness. Undaunted, her curiosity and patience led her to discover that chimpanzees experience and express complex emotions such as joy, sorrow, fear, despair, rage, love and compassion. And like humans, they are capable of making and using tools and toys, as well as waging war with rivals.

Over one million wild chimpanzees lived in the forests of Africa a century ago, today less than 200,000 remain. “I went as a scientist,” she says, “I left as an activist.” Awarded over fifty honorary degrees, Goodall (in her eighties) takes her passion of hope around the world to expose the killing of wild animals, illegal trafficking, and the dire risks of climate change. And like Hawking who believed, “climate change is one of the great dangers we face and it’s one we can prevent,” Goodall urges each of us to take action – to go beyond!

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.
– Albert Einstein

Perhaps this post is not about apathy after all. Perhaps my investigative meandering swerved in a desire to align with an auspicious cosmos ­– beyond. By definition, empathy is the opposite of apathy, but I’m leaning toward passion as the antithesis. And if nothing else or everything, there’s no black hole to fall into and as far as I can tell a glow emanates from the angles of the heavens.

Without wanting to cast a pall over this post, but rather to honor the courage to attempt to go beyond, I confess to being haunted by the 38-year-old Cirque de Soleil aerialist with 15 years experience, who lost his grip on a ring and fell to his death during a live performance of Volta two weeks ago. Just before going on stage, Yann Arnaud shared an Instagram post with a photo of himself practicing the new straps duo stunt –“It’s time to go for it.” He leaves behind a wife, two young children and a legend.

By now you’re probably wondering – where’s this going? After all, isn’t it the beginning of spring? Where’s the fancy elixir – the antidote to apathy? Hold on! Even though I haven’t provided a zero gravity flight plan (like Hawking took) or even a formula for leaping out of black holes, no guide to take you to Tanzania for chimpanzee trekking, or logical explanation for sudden death doing what you love – I’m getting there.

No, I don’t have all the answers. Nor do I claim a pathway to the profound (too many cryptic passages). Instead – I’m offering you the questions! With more than a hint of passion. Yes, it’s spring – a time of new beginnings. What do you have to get beyond – to go beyond?

It’s a discovery of a story when I write a book, a case of inching ahead on each page and discovering what’s beyond in the darkness, beyond where you’re writing.
– Michael Ondaatje