December 16th, '06 -- Wonder

A crowd of black villagers are packed shoulder to shoulder in an aerial photograph, gazing up at the camera. There are hundreds of them--the frame is not large enough to hold them all. Every one of them is smiling and waving--eyes wide and bright, teeth flashing. They are the embodiment of simple excitement and happiness, as bright as the clothes they're wearing.

A caption on the back of the photo states they are African villagers waving at a hovering helicopter.

At what point do we trade joy and wonder for technology and creature comforts?

Does mapping the human genome and colonizing space make us happy? Does it make us better?

There are tiny pockets of tribal people who live off their land, self-sufficient and self-actuating, who live, love, struggle and die without ever seeing a microwave oven. They know their place in the world, are sure of their purpose, and are spiritually rich. Their happiness is simple and honest and direct, as is their pain. Their joy is the people and land around them.

How will curing cancer benefit their lives?

Will education make them better people?

In our desperate struggle to complicate and validate our lives, we are outdistancing our own capacity for joy and wonder.