August is here and the “dog days of summer” have arrived. I always thought the dog days referred to the hot and humid time of year when dogs were exhausted by the heat due to the fact that they wear furry coats year-round. But I learned along the way that hot summer months are the dog days because of the star Sirius which often rises in the morning this time of year and was thought by the ancients to cause an increase in temperature as Sirius is the brightest star in the sky (after the Sun of course). *Sirius is the “dog star” and part of the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”.
Ancient civilizations also had many other beliefs. Some turned out to be true, some not, and I think there are still some that we haven’t discovered yet.
I watched a Netflix series recently about the “Ancient Apocalypse” which talks about the potential for an advanced civilization that may have existed prior to the last ice age around 12,000 years ago. It is very curious to learn about the ancient pyramids, monoliths, and geoglyphs that were created thousands of years ago. Many of these seem to point to the stars and constellations, and many experts still wonder why. The pyramids in Mexico that align perfectly with the solstice(s) or the equinox is fascinating. How did they build those so precisely? How was their math and science so advanced without using a calculator or computer program? There are many mysteries of the past that aren’t fully known.
And yet for some reason modern society believes we live in the most advanced civilization to ever exist. That may be true in some ways, but if we were such an advanced civilization, why do human issues like homelessness, food insecurity, human trafficking, and war still exist? I ask this rhetorically of course, as I’m sure you (and I) have thoughts on why this is the case. Some of us may be right and some of us may be wrong. So how do we live our lives in light of the “advanced civilization” in which we find ourselves, with many humans around the globe struggling to survive?
I think it comes down to deciding to live simply, one day at a time. Perhaps even living moment by moment with intentionality. Maybe we can’t fix the world, or all the broken things. But maybe we can simply be the best person that we can be each day. Maybe we can think about what matters to us, we used to call these values. And maybe strive to live by those values. I like to think of things like wisdom, justice, courage, kindness, and freedom. If each of us were simply a good neighbor, maybe that would help to fix some of our issues. I recall another saying from the past, “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Maybe we simply start right there, back to basics, day by day.
“To thine own self be true.” - Shakespeare
Comentários