A Monk's Tale

We humans are very systematic thinkers and doers. We always seem to find either by necessity or invention, the shortest distance between the starting point and the goal. The entire history of human society is a constant telling and retelling of this phenomenon. If you didn’t get a chance to see the movie Wall-E, I would urge you to put it on your priority of things to do in the next few weeks. It tells the story of our planet being so overly polluted that eventually all humanity has to evacuate to this large galactic village that floats somewhere in space. The human beings have become huge blobs that sit on these chairs that float around in rather orderly fashion from place to place. All of their communication is done virtually with these monitors that sit before them. They don’t even have to move their heads left or right – they simply talk to others through their screens even though the person to whom they are speaking is floating right next to them. They’ve created a life of such ease that their existence is literally machine like. They don’t even wear shoes anymore because their feet never touch the ground. But, through a series of unexpected events, they eventually come back to earth….literally. They reclaim their former existence, accept the messiness of their planet and set out to become truly human again but this time with a new found appreciation for each other in real time and for their home which through neglect they had allowed to deteriorate.


It’s a simple story and a bit silly but it touches a nerve with regard to our responsibility to the environment AND to this tendency of ours to seek the easiest way possible to our goal. The embarrassment of riches that flows from modern, scientific accomplishments has the power to make our human race more productive and holy. But the shadow possibility also exists. These achievements can lead us to a sub human existence, turning us into floating blobs of being that go from one desire to the next regardless of the consequences.