Denis Murray Sr., 71, Crownsville
Wonderful things about our species have been discovered by scientists in the last 30 years. We are so much more important to each other than we knew, more a gift to each other, more a needed comfort. Scientists are reporting their work, but the meaning of their work to our everyday lives is just becoming known to the general public. Spreading the news is what I try to do with my writing.
We have evolved an appreciation for the gift of life that gives us a natural sacred gratitude, and we turn to each other for confirmation and reassurance. We have evolved to be a gift to each other, and that is the basis of a natural morality of gift. We have used the phrase “the golden rule” for some time, but now we can see the morality of gift is rooted deep in our evolved psychology. We are free to live by it or not, but living by it is deeply satisfying and gives a sense of a life well lived, while the alternative is the taste of ashes.
We are forming a global civilization for the first time, and we can use this natural morality as a global standard. True, this morality is widely different in important details, because each of us interprets how to be a gift to each other, and our interpretations are as unique as we are. But the generality of gift is strong and clear and allows us to see that we all are experiencing the same sacred gratitude. It is the foundation of our lives, the meaning of our lives and the story of our species.
My new book, Trusting Ourselves, will be out in January, 2015.