Page 47 - How to play life to your advantage -print
P. 47
NASA to find life on Mars. In order for James Lovelock to work out how to identify life
on Mars he commenced his query with asking the question: what defines life on Earth?
What James Lovelock came to unravel in his own mind and awareness was called the
Gaia Hypothesis. He came up with a theory that the Earth is a living organism and the
biosphere is the life of Earth. When you break that down into what humanity is, then
you start to see that humans have evolved out of the planet and so humans are part
of the biosphere and therefore part of the Earth.
As a young 20-something female looking for meaning in life the idea that we are all
one that we are all part of this planet, the planet Earth, and we are parted part and
parcel the biosphere really resonated with me.
In fact, I became enthralled with these theories. I became a devout follower of David
Suzuki, a geneticist and eco-activist who wrote the book The Sacred Balance. In the
Sacred Balance David Suzuki explores how humans are made up physically of the same
types of matter in the same proportions as the Earth. So, when you look at the
elements earth, fire, water, and air he suggests that we have each of elements within
our bodies in the same proportions as the planet has these elements. He concludes
that we are basically mini versions of the planet.
There is a very spiritual aspect to David Suzuki’s writing. He suggests a fifth element.
The element of heart. Suzuki breaks down the history of molecules and matter on the
Earth. He notes that the same molecules that lived in dinosaurs or was in the body of
Jesus over two thousand years ago are still circulating through the biosphere today
and may be in your body and my body right now. The molecules in the biosphere don’t
46