We Are At Mercy

Another passage from Urban Monk that I found incredibly meaningful. He referenced Alan Watts who wrote:

“The illusion that organisms move entirely on their own is immensely persuasive until we settle down, as scientists do, to describe their behaviour carefully.

A scientist will soon discover that in describing the movement of an ant, for instance, he will soon have to take into account other factors – food sources in the area, hostile or friendly behaviour of other organisms, and countless other factors…

The more detailed the description of our ant’s behaviour becomes, the more it has to include such matters as density, humidity, and temperature of the surrounding atmosphere, the types and sources of its food, the social structure of its own species, and that of neighbouring species with which it has some symbiotic or preying relationship.

When at last the whole vast list is compiled, and the scientist calls “Finish!” for lack of further time or interest, he may well have the impression that the ant’s behaviour is no more than its automatic and involuntary reaction to its environment. It is attracted by this, repelled by that, kept alive by one condition, and destroyed by another."

We are at mercy to the countless factors that effect us eternally throughout each second.