Right here. Right now.

I've been reflecting on the incredible story that we have the privilege to be a part of right now. The last century saw changes on a scale that was unprecedented in human history, not least because the human population has doubled about three times in the last hundred years.

We are connected to each other, all around the globe, in ways that were simply unthinkable a century ago (I'm sure that someone better read than I am would be able to think of an example of a sci fi author who had, in fact, imagined the Internet before the end of the 19th century. I don't care. I haven't heard of them and most of the people in the 19th century hadn't either. So there). We can hear about things on the other side of the world as they happen, and since there is such an exchange of people and culture around the world, we even have a hope of understanding their significance.

A friend posted a link to this video on Facebook (Ah! That glorious social tool! That infernal thief of my time!) a while ago, and I'm still getting chills rewatching it.

Did You Know?

The piece of information I can't stop thinking about is: "It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 19th century"

Woah.

I am inspired, humbled, and sometimes almost paralyzed by what this means we should be capable of as humans. We have all of this technology, all of these incredible ideas and inventions and abilities at our fingertips- what should we do with them? What would we do with them if our only aim was to make peoples' lives more fulfilling? What are we doing with them now- or how much are we ignoring their potential? Are we capable of living up to the responsibility we are realizing we have to each other and to the planet? I think that we are, but I'll need to rattle that thought around in my brain for at least another week before I'll be able to articulate it, even poorly.