In the layers of the crust of the earth there is a library of life that has existed beyond history. Our hike to an annotated portion of this library was physically rewarding, but somber emotionally. There will be an extinction event on our layer.

As it happened, we were discussing the mottos of previous generations: 

“Life sucks, and then you die.” This one does not hold up well today.

“It is what it is.” This one is the rationalization of a for-profit organization.

“Be gooder.” This recent one is better.

Genesis 3:17, after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;

    through painful toil you will eat food from it

    all the days of your life.

We are not angels, nor are we indifferent to the suffering our mistakes have caused. Instead, by being aware, we give ourselves room to grow. We have no choice except to continue to toil.