Step Functions

Step functions are a kind of crazy thing to think about in that twilight period between being asleep and waking up, but that is exactly what popped into my head this morning. The best way that I can describe a step function is something that doesn’t go up or increase gradually, but stays flat for a period of time and then suddenly steps up.

So here I was sound asleep and suddenly I am kind of awake and I think that human beings better hurry up and make a step function evolutionary change or else as a species we are done. Then my mind started to flesh out the thought. We were cold and dealt with the elements and suddenly we developed fire. We were hunters and gatherers and suddenly we decided to grow our food. Over our development as a species, there were critical discoveries or developments that took us to a new level. They allowed us to be more capable of survival or improved our quality of life or maybe even intellectually moved us in new directions for the benefit of the species.

It seems like we are getting to one of those times where a step function in our evolution is necessary if we are going to survive/thrive. Think about it. We are at a point in our evolution where we sit in, breathe in, drink in and live in our wastes. We poison our bodies and our recreational devices poison our minds. We are poisoning the planet. If we don’t make some evolutionary change, we may not continue.

That was my waking thought. A real surprise, though, is that it was not a bummer. I woke rested, hopeful for a happy day, and thankful for that warning thought. Maybe it was my own little step function. Maybe awareness and accountability will become this species evolutionary step. That would be awesome!