What would his future be like?

The Lighthouse at the End of the Planet

A Tsunami of Forgetfulness seems to be sweeping throughout humanity.

Perhaps I am not the only one conscious and caring enough to make this observation, but sometimes I look around and wonder whether mankind has become so deeply immersed in the present moment that we have forgotten to ask where we are actually going.

Most of us appear to be drifting.

We are living in survival mode, trying to keep our heads above the water while the world around us becomes increasingly unpredictable. War and migration, the possibility of food shortages, the spiraling uncertainties of climate change, political upheavals and social fragmentation—all of these waves are crashing upon the shores of our collective consciousness.

And yet, strangely enough, we continue going about our daily routines as though everything is normal.

Perhaps that is the greatest illusion of all.

We have become so accustomed to chaos that chaos itself can begin to feel normal.

Somewhere, however, there are people who have awakened to what is happening.

They are scattered across the planet, belonging to no particular nation, religion, political party or institution. They may never meet one another. They may not even know that the others exist.

But they share something.

They remember.

They remember that we are caretakers rather than owners of this planet.

They remember that another human being is not a statistic, an enemy, a refugee, a consumer or a political inconvenience.

They remember that the Earth is alive with countless forms of existence, all interconnected in ways that we are only beginning to understand.

They remember compassion.

They remember restraint.

They remember responsibility.

They remember that the future belongs not to us, but to those who come after us.

Perhaps these scattered souls are the vanguard of the keepers of sanity—a small minority quietly trying to keep the course of human history from turning completely into darkness.

And perhaps their task is not to save the entire world.

Perhaps it is simply to keep the light burning.

Which brings me to an image that came to me this morning:

The Lighthouse at the End of the Planet.

Imagine a lighthouse standing somewhere at the very edge of the world.

Beyond it is the vast and unpredictable ocean.

Storms are gathering.

The waves are rising.

Ships are drifting.

Some have lost their bearings entirely.

But the lighthouse remains.

It does not shout at the ocean.

It does not try to stop the waves.

It simply shines.

Perhaps that is all consciousness can sometimes do.

To remain awake.

To remain compassionate.

To remain sane.

To remember what has been forgotten.

And to keep shining a small light into the darkness—not because we are certain that everyone will find their way home, but because someone might.

The tsunami of forgetfulness may be enormous.

But so is the human capacity to remember.