Into the Wilderness: Story 34
Raising Autism: Connection 101
The other day, WordPress sent me a congratulations: Walk the Moon has reached 50 posts! At first I did what I normally do. I minimized, “that’s all.” But immediately, I reframed. Wow, 50! That’s an impressive number. Doing 50 of any task isn’t easy. Take 50 fitness classes. Effort. Read 50 books. Effort. Make 50 loaves of bread. Effort.
When I started Walk the Moon in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, I thought I was telling the story of my daughter’s and family’s trauma recovery. I did share much of it, though not all. I began to talk about autism spectrum disorder, about trans-generational trauma, about the uncertainty of a pandemic. And then I stopped. I wanted to share my stories, but work circumstances had pulled me away.
I restarted Walk the Moon in 2024. I continue to talk about issues people are uncomfortable to address. I risk vulnerability because vulnerability is rare. We humans are locked within ourselves as if we are finite individuals with singular self-determination. But that’s not what we are. At least, I don’t believe that’s correct any more.
Since the 1600s, Western society has believed in identity and individuation. Descartes wrote “Cogito, ergo sum,” which means, “I think, therefore, I am.” More broadly, it established the belief that thinking defines existence.
Then came quantum physics.
Quantum physics has looked at existence at the minutest level of being. At this level, certain qualities emerge. Atomic and subatomic particles- in fact, all particles, of which everything is made- have a specific amount of energy. In science, energy is a force creating motion or change. Different kinds of energies exist- kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, light and stored. This means that, rather than being finite, we are collections of minute particles, each of which has a component of motion or change. Even more, particles interact with other particles at these levels and can be related zillions of light years away.
I now see humans as a bunch of bouncing matter emitting energy. Perhaps this is why we say a person has a specific energy about them. It’s not visible, but we sense it at a level beyond our five senses. From this perspective, when I am vulnerable, I create energy that interacts at the quantum level with other particles. The possibility exists, then, that my particles could interact with other particles and create change in this world.
Sound crazy? Scientifically, it’s not. Quantum mechanics proved that separated particles- by zillions of light years- impact each other. When particles become “entangled” by proximity- entanglement defined as a similarity- then when one particle changes, the other does as well. At the atomic and subatomic level, particles can be entangled that are not visually related to each other. We are not talking about a naked-eye visible spatial relationship.
So at the quantum level, I can be related to numerous people nowhere near me. We humans are made of the same matter that created the universe. That doesn’t negate the presence of God, if that’s what you are concerned about. Indeed, it shows the genius of God, or whatever entity you believe in.
I am aiming to reach people at that quantum level. Possible? I don’t know. What I do know is that science has proven the existence of quantum mechanics and the relationship of particles eons apart. Perhaps my act of faith is that we can effect positive universal change through the particulate level. Why not? Humans have believed many other theories through history that have proven to be wrong- I’m talking to you, flat earthers!
As I move to the next 50 entries of Walk the Moon, I will be journeying across visible and invisible fields of identity to create links to join together to make this world a better place- no matter what your beliefs are. You don’t have to agree. In the meantime, I emit energy; therefore, we are.
Walk the Moon 