Stream of Consciousness

Yesterday afternoon, as I sat idly with Daddy wondering why we always manage record-breaking silences whenever we're one-on-one, I looked up to notice a bird take flight from one of the large trees lining the golf course. My first thought was: "wouldn't it be great to be able to fly like that?"

That thought was instantaneously followed by my lazier, more empowering self that said: "I'm glad I'm not a bird. Look at how often and how forcefully it has to flap its wings to stay in flight. That must be so tiring."

My tiny scientific side moved on to wonder about hot air currents to help it glide rather than flap, and how I wouldn't mind being a bird with a large wingspan to benefit from that gliding ability. I wondered about the size and type of feathers I'd need to maximize gliding potential. I figured an eagle would be a cool bird to be, or a falcon. Both birds were loners, were majestic, were respected and were birds of prey. I definitely didn't want to be a small robin or a hummingbird, hunted and constantly flapping their wings to fly. A snowy owl would be cool, too.

Suddenly, my mind shifted to the bird's design and how it evolved to be the way it was today. Birds were gargantuan in prehistoric times. Today, the mechanics remain the same, on a much smaller scale. Imagine the Pterodactyl in flight. It probably managed to glide much of the time. Like a Cessna (yes, I know it has an engine and isn't a glider) with a heartbeat.

Where did evolution really begin, anyway? I'm a proponent of intelligent design as I find the concept of pure Creationism too deliberate or micromanaged. I believe God didn't sit there making every single evolutionary change the Earth has seen. God set things in motion, like one giant thought experiment, and let things take their course. Otherwise, why would an All-Seeing, All-Knowing God create the first micro-organisms in the first place? Why would God go through all those motions of single-celled life forms to dinosaurs to humans? Why not cut right to the chase since He already knows what the end result looks like?

Of course the obvious argument there would be that an All-Knowing God wouldn't even need to create anything in the first place since He is All-Knowing. But that is an entirely different debate that questions one's faith. Part of believing in anything other than Evolution requires a steadfast dose of faith. In this region of the world, you cannot allow yourself to question the existence of a Higher Power.

This conversation with myself lasted about 4 minutes, but went from "why do Daddy and I never have anything to talk about" to "you have to believe in God and in some form of Intelligent Design because then birds adhere to both sides of the debate".

I congratulated my stream of consciousness for a thoroughly, randomly entertaining ride. This is why I enjoy stream of consciousness literature. You can cover so much in one body of work. And you can use it as an excuse to say whatever you want without sticking to the plot line.

The human mind is cool when given the space to learn and question. I wish I made more time to just let my mind wander in landscapes other than my day-to-day life. I think I'd enjoy the conversations I could have with myself. One condition though, Google has to come with me.