Ever Ancient, Ever New

Our universe is nearly 14 billion years old. Earth, a child of the universe, is about four and a half billion years old. Neither sprang into being fully formed, and neither is fully formed yet, all these eons later. Both are ancient. Both are evolving, and always new.

We can see this phenomenon of “ever ancient ever new” in the natural world as we make our way through our days. Recently, Scott and I were finishing a hike, and right at the edge of the woods was a maple tree, tall and stately. Certainly not ancient compared to the Earth in which its roots spread, but it was an old tree, its bark rough, its trunk thick, and its branches reaching up into the sky.

Among the trees that surrounded it, this tree appeared to be an elder. Ancient, relatively speaking. And yet, when I looked closely at those sky-scraping branches, I saw something brand-new. Newly-emerged leaves, delicate and tiny, were shining in the afternoon light.

I thought about those leaves, unfolding to the sun, just beginning their lives as part of this tree which is ever ancient, ever new.

Isn’t it the same with us? Aren’t we humans, as we age, ever new with each new thought, each new friend, each new experience? Aren’t these things like the young leaves on that old maple? I think so. I met a very old man recently, when we gave a program about the Galapagos at an assisted living facility. He had sat watching, but hadn't seemed that engaged in the program. But afterward we accompanied him as he slowly made his way up the hallway with his walker. He turned to me, and in a very quiet voice said, “There are black sand beaches in Hawaii, too.” And that began a conversation about volcanic islands, and about how similar the Hawaiian and Galapagos islands are. And when I looked at his face, I saw something new in those wizened eyes. Interest. Curiosity. Ever ancient. Ever new.

Like new stars being born in our ancient universe, like newborn leaves emerging from ancient branches, each encounter we experience offers an opportunity to learn, to evolve, to become. Like the universe, like Earth, like that tree, we are never complete, never static. We are ever new.