Seeding The Earth - Theodore de Clercq Life;s

Seeding The Earth

In this painting, Gaia (Nüwa in Chinese) commemorates Asia. In Asian mythology and primordial European thought, Gaia was omnipresent. Hence her life presence, like matter and energy, was considered a pillar of the universe. Gaia is shown in the painting, transforming the landscape from barren desolation to a verdant paradise. But science, today’s religion, considers Gaia or Life, an accident that arose spontaneously on Earth.

Framed Painting

The walnut veneer frame accented with glass and turquoise beads resembles a Chinese “moon gate >” The shape is the Asian symbol of birth and renewal. Moreover, like the moon, its shape connects to other planets and worlds, a perfect complement for Gaia.

Detail Of Frame

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Gaia's Powers

Gaia’s magic adapts to her environment. She can be a dormant shadow in a hostile home or develop into complex Life when the circumstances are right. On Earth, Life evolved with the available materials. However, other worlds may support Life beyond our imagination.

But we are only beginning to learn of Gaia’s powers. For example, in an article by Douglas Fox (“Microbes in the Air,” Discover April 2012,) he recounts that microbes, not inorganic minerals, are the most significant cause of Earth’s precipitation and weather.

Other scientific findings reveal that Gaia significantly affects the inorganic world and is responsible for much of the crust’s chemical makeup.

Our Limitations

Unfortunately, we are more blind to Gaia’s existence than the ancients. So how can we understand that all creatures, plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses fit into nitches in the kingdom of Life? Yet, simultaneously, we see our existence as apart and without a greater purpose.

Our Nitch

Humankind fits into the nitches we have not seen or understood. Surely, our purpose is more than a hedonistic existence or magnanimous gestures of saving rare or endangered species. We have the opportunity to preserve Life’s complex network from the next cataclysmic event that will nearly destroy Life, as has happened repeatedly. We may need a version of Noah’s Ark to save Earth’s complexity. So rather than Life almost starting over as it did in the past great dyings, we may have to take Life on a holiday from Earth, where some of its complexity will be protected. We may never reach the stars, but a biosphere on the moon may be the answer until the Earth is again liveable. We see with a limited perspective. How much has Gaia done in taking a hostile world and turning what the Earth is today?

We also may have the opportunity to help give the universe more diversity, even turning it into a garden of abundance.