Pssst! You! Yeah, you... are a passenger on a planet... on a blue-green planet that's orbiting a golden star. If our planet were not spinning, we wouldn't have days. If she were not orbiting, we wouldn't have years. If our moon were not orbiting us, we wouldn't have months - or "moonths" as the word was originally pronounced. And... you and I would not be inhabiting this planet if our ancient ancestors hadn't... hadn't... hadn't what?

Eons before we learned reading, writing and 'rithmetic, we put a stick in the ground and we watched the shadow it cast. We observed the shadow changing during the day and during the year. We observed how the changes are orderly, predictable, linked with the seasons and linked with the life cycles of all plants and animals. We observed that the cycles of life-on-Earth are the rhythms of Earth-and-sky. And we asked ourselves, "Why?"

Answering this takes us many centuries, but it shows us how to plan. And planning equals survival when our food grows - or migrates into our territory - only at a certain time of year. Planning equals survival when the materials for our clothing and shelter grow - or migrate into our territory - only at a certain time of year. With planning we know when to aim our arrows at migrating birds and animals, when put our fishing nets into the water, and when to plant our seeds.

Our hunger to know why the rhythms of life-on-Earth are the cycles of Earth-and-sky rewards us with more than food. It develops our brains and it connects us with the cosmos. The more we connect with the cosmos, the more eager we are to understand the cosmic cycles by which nature satisfies our needs. So, we upgrade our sticks-in-the ground: we create sundials, obelisks, and eventually massive, sky-aligned structures like Stonehenge, Machu Picchu and Chaco Canyon. We also upgrade our observing skills by creating mathematics, astronomy, physics, geography and more. Eventually, we discover that the Earth beneath our feet is transporting us through the heavens. Yes, she's spinning us and orbiting us through space with a mathematical precision that we track with clocks and calendars.

Our stick-in-the ground is our first clock, our first calendar and our first observatory. With our observatory we can tell the date. With our observatory we can observe holy days - holidays. In ancient Greece our stick-in-the-ground is called a gnomon ("KNOW-mun"), meaning "indicator" or "one who discerns." And our gnomon becomes the root of our words, knowing, knowledge, cognition, recognize, diagnose, gnosis, connoisseur and cognoscente. Yes, our gnomon is the root of our knowing.

If all I know is how to pass tests - and I don't know how to provide for my needs without destroying the only planet in the solar system that offers me food, clothing, shelter and air to breathe... What do I really know? This is what I'm asking myself as I'm starting to use my new calendar.

This is Harriet Witt, your guide for this little ride on our passenger planet.


If you have any questions, drop Harriet an email: harriet@passengerplanet.com


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