An addict is always up or down at one end or the other of the see-saw. He is never in balance for long. There is no “something greater” in his thoughts beyond satisfying the craving; and there is no center because he is dependent upon matters outside of his control. No sooner has he found a “source” or “supplier” in which he can place his faith, but his balance is upset because he needs more of it, the price goes up, or his health declines.
Alas, we are all addicts in this material, Big Dopamine world, and continually see-sawing up and down. The human landscape is young and out of balance, relatively un-evolved. The human landscape does not yet deserve our confidence. Will it provide the gifts we need? Our faith in the human landscape is, justifiably, weak.
The human landscape is full of ideals which can hardly be trusted. The gap between ideal and reality is too large. Even God, perhaps the greatest ideal of all, is too distant from Earth.
Nearer to us than God are ecosystems. Ecosystems actually close the gap between the ideal and the real. We have evolved with them, and they do provide — they always have. All gifts come from ecosystems, either from the niches with which we have evolved, or from complex systems beyond our full understanding, such as the weather, the seasons, growth and decay, instincts and evolution. All these are gifts, as are our glimpses of their truths (i.e. our knowledge), and they all come from ecosystems.
We can place our faith in ecosystems, always and forever.