If you haven't read this book, skip the sections of my thought here that are written in italics and bold, as I will keep spoilers identified in that way.

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Octavia Butler is often heralded as a prophet because of how accurately she pinpointed what America would look like in the early 2020's in this book. It is a book centered in a poorer neighborhood in a post climate-disaster California and in one of the very first scenes, this is demonstrated by a conversation the main character has with her step-mother.

After a nightmare, Lauren (the main character) goes to talk with her step-mother, who points her to the stars and tells her that when she was a little girl she couldn't see as many because of all of the city lights. To which lauren admits that she thinks she prefers the stars. Which is what brings us to the moment I want to discuss. In response, her step-mother says that she would rather have the lights, but the stars are what they can afford.

OK, let's dive in!

The stars have always been beautiful. And very few people would disagree with that. But Lauren's step mother is right. Despite us knowing that there is something magical in laying in the dirt and looking up into the sky, we have grown accustomed to "advancements" that deny us easy access. And yes, I know there are plenty of places in the country where you can look into the stars, but I am speaking from a big city perspective about PRINCIPLES that apply to everyone. So stick it out with me.

Everyone has, at some point, pictured themselves laying on a hillside beside their favorite person/people, looking up into the sky in awe together. It's a picture that brings us thoughts of intimacy and community. And yet, we know that ultimately, that is magic that most of us are perfectly comfortable abandoning for the sake of our conveniences.

Now, I am not calling electricity evil. I am not critizing you for leaving your lights on. That's not where this conversation is going. What I am getting at is this: how often are our conveniences and "advances" costing us access to the magic that already exists in the world. And, more importantly, how much of that magic is being lost to time as a result?

Over the last few decades, it has become clearer and clearer that our "advancements" are hurting our planet. We are destroying our ozone layer, melting the ice caps, disrupting the planet's oceans and weather patterns...the systems and advancements we have created for our own conveniences have not just cost us our ability to see the stars, but to sustain the very planet we call home. And our response has been to do two things:

1. To pretend it isn't happening

2. To advance technology further in order to slow it down

I don't know if Octavia Butler intended for us to see this, but in listening to the exchange between Lauren and her step-mother, I couldn't help but think about how few of us (collectively speaking) are willing to listen to the people who have never forgotten the magic that sits, forgotten, in our planet. And i'm not speaking mystically. Indigineous communities all across the planet are calling for us to remember what it means to care about our planet. They are challenging us to end our efforts to exploit the planets natural resources, and to care for her oceans and forests...and we are not interested in listening. Even those among us that care about global warming are stubbornly clinging to the comforts that we are used to, instead of shifting our behavior to give the planet a break from our centuries of assault. And I just wonder.... are we going to end up in the same place as the people in this book? Are we going to refuse to listen until one day, we are looking up at the stars with our children and telling them stories about what it looked like to have a choice?

Yeah... that's what's on my mind at the moment. I don't to make the right choices only because the world has already burned around me.