Newtonmas is a festive celebration that includes friends and loved ones being together and enjoying the love and warm embrace of our common humanity.
There are two important parts of the Newtonmas celebration. The first is the exchange of gifts. The exchange of gifts is not meant to be a free for all of consumerism but a celebration of our common connectedness and triumph over the obstacles of nature. A proper Newtonmas gift has to do with technology. That is not to say that the latest in technology is mandatory or that the newest TV or smartphone is the ultimate gift. Everything is technology! Think about it, all of the things that we use to live our lives were invented by people and passed along to us. The clothes on your back and the fork you eat with are tools that human beings used to solve a particular problem that exists in the natural world. These ideas were so useful and practical when they were invented thousands of years ago, that they are still in use today. When you give a gift to someone on Newtonmas it should be useful to them and hopefully solve a problem and make their lives easier. You can even give gifts that simply make the recipient happy. There is nothing wrong with that! Happiness and joy are rare in many people’s lives today, filling that need with an awesome gift is perfectly in line with what Newtonmas and the Season of Reason is all about.
No matter what gifts you give on Newtonmas you should reflect on the technology that you are giving to the other person. The technology you give them is the end result of many very smart and creative people working together across the epochs of time using the tools of science. Think about your smartphone. How many scientific discoveries do you hold in your hand when you pick up a smartphone? You can communicate with a large portion of the planet instantaneously if you want! You can use your voice, full motion video, text, emojis, or pictures to communicate an idea, mood, or feeling with someone on the other side of the world in a manner of seconds. That is astounding! You could have an idea that can change the world and you could communicate that idea to everyone in a split second if you want. For the majority of human civilization’s 5,000 years on this planet we have only had the ability to communicate as far as our voice could travel through the air.
Think of how many inventions and discoveries had to occur before you were able to hold that smartphone in your hand. Humans had to figure out how to write, print books, transmit signals through the air, invent the internet, invent the battery, invent the circuit, invent the computer, use silicon as a building material, harness electricity, and countless other things. You are holding a miracle in your hands. A miracle that was created by human beings who were curious just like you and were willing to think, reason, and figure it out. Your smartphone is a miraculous tool that can do miraculous things. It is culmination of many people’s efforts and the majority of them had no idea what they were doing was going to result in the device that you are utterly dependent on for entertainment and connection.
On Newtonmas we want you to reflect on all of the people who existed before you that enabled you to enjoy the technology in your life. There were a million discoveries that culminated in the technology that we enjoy today. In a way it is similar to how you came to be. Millions of people who you will never meet or even know their names existed, worked, strived, had children, and died in order for you to be here too. Every human being is the product of millions of these chance interactions. In that way you are just like the technology that you depend on to make your modern life.
But more importantly, your connection to this world and the gifts of science that surround you and your physical body were created in the same place. Everything you see, everything that is in your body, everything that you use to make your life better were all born inside an exploding star.
We are connected to all living things by our biology. We are connected to everything in the universe by physics, chemistry, and lots of random chance. Celebrate your connectedness this Newtonmas using the technology that we enjoy as an example of how intertwined our planet is.
See more ideas on how to celebrate Newtonmas and the Season of Reason at merrynewtonmas.com
Buy a Merry Newtonmas Holiday Ornament here http://bit.ly/newtonmas
No comments:
Post a Comment