“Naturally, this question implies the ‘survival’ of our species, but I interpret it slightly differently. As I see it, the concern is for the wellbeing, or health, of our species. From this standpoint, the greatest threat is already in full swing. The threat is that we become so disconnected from the natural world that we forget what it feels like to be alive. The majority of humans are clinging to the memories and instincts of our ancestors and the few indigenous humans left. Yet, in 20 years, who’s to say we won’t have gone that much further down the path we’re on that we forget these feelings and memories altogether? This is highly probable in my opinion and would be like getting sick, throwing out the medicine, and eventually just getting so used to being sick that we choose not to get better.

Krishnamurti, a great Indian saint, said, ‘it’s no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Similarly, Ram Dass, a spiritual teacher from the US, said, ‘we must first realize we are in prison in order to escape.’ To me, all of these words are as relevant today as ever. We have normalized an illness and imprisoned ourselves in this reality, all the while hiding the key.

I once read a short piece called, ‘There’s a Man In the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head With an Umbrella.’ The character was followed by someone hitting him on the head with an umbrella. At first, it annoyed him greatly, however he became accustomed to it and eventually addicted. He found that he couldn’t live without it. This story symbolized the power of habit – that when we habituate ourselves to something, even if it is destructive to our wellbeing, we have tremendous difficulty changing the inertia. I believe our collective society is becoming habituated to many harmful patterns, and in the process, becoming addicted to them. If we do not begin to loosen this pattern, the knot will get tighter and tighter until there is no hope of undoing it.”