Museums contain reflections of our past and present, where ordinary people can observe the history of our life and the planet itself. During these unprecedented times, I chose to visit a museum of prehistoric life forms, which is not limited to well-known dinosaurs. Although I occasionally saw such places as a child and wondered about the nature of the demonstrated creatures, I never truly understood the deeper importance. My childhood visits to prehistoric museums were always in the company of family or friends. However, this time I decided to proceed on my own in order to fully immerse in the experience. One of the unique aspects of my visit was the fact that there were not many visitors during the pandemic. In other words, I was almost on my own and had plenty of time and room to contemplate and assess my experience. What I realized during these long walks in the museum is that good life is found in goodness, and both sacrifice and happiness are derivatives of the former.
As I entered the museum, I knew that I was not interested in well-known dinosaurs and other popular prehistoric animals. I truly wanted to see the things that happened early on and demonstrations of the evolutionary process of humans. Therefore, I was skipping the large middle part when dinosaurs roamed and dominated the planet. I began by observing and looking at the earliest life forms, which were mostly a multitude of variations of jellyfish and arthropods. One of the very first ancestors of all vertebrate animals were tiny fishes, who did not even develop jaws (Petsche, 2015). Then ancient amphibians conquered the land by evolving legs, among which some developed eggs, which did not require water due to a thicker shell. These were the first reptilians, who were not bound to rivers and seas, and thus, they could explore the drylands by traveling further. Before dinosaurs emerged, some reptilians became mammal-like, where they started to carry the offspring in their womb (Rich, Rich, Fenton, & Fenton, 2020). I learned that ancient reptilians were the common ancestors of all mammals, birds, and dinosaurs because avian is the continuation of the latter.
After such an experience, I proceeded with the evolution of humans, which started with Australopithecus. It was one of the very first known apes, which had the ability to walk upright. By observing the further specimens, it became more evident how our skulls became larger, and the usage of the tools became more complex (Kornfeld, Frison, & Larson, 2016). Throughout this journey, I felt connected to these taxidermies, which were our ancestors. In our fast-paced world, we forget how minute our lives are in comparison with the timelines of these creatures. As I walked the hallways of the museum, I began to think about the key question of what the good life is and where we can find it. All of the animals observed did not possess high levels of intelligence and were mostly guided by instincts. They did what made them happy, such as eating or mating, and thus, pleasure or happiness was the thing that made them happy.
From the moment when birds and dinosaurs branched out from mammals, we can see that both of them evolved strong parental instincts, which is not as prominent among amphibians, fish, or early reptiles. In their case, such an approach to their offspring required a certain sacrifice, which did not make them happy or experience a pleasure (Cieslik, 2019). Their instincts forced them to be altruistic and sacrifice their happiness to ensure the survival of their younglings, such as a starving bird, which needs to keep its eggs warm.
In other words, it was a continuous battle between an evolution favoring selflessness or selfishness among organisms. After, I began to think about the concept of the good life itself. More specifically, the question revolved around what makes life good. It can be good for me by being selfish, or it can be good for others, where I need to make sacrifices. In both cases, good life happens to either one party or another, but I think that a good life should involve all parties. Therefore, I concluded that the good life is found in good itself because if I strive for goodness, then both I and others will be happy. If there is a need for sacrifices, then they will be mutual and not at the cost of one side. By excessively focusing on sacrifice, a society will hinder the importance of happiness, which is closely tied to pleasure. However, making happiness the centerpiece of the given puzzle will inevitably lead to the fact that everyone will be selfish, and one side will abuse another to achieve this happy state. Our world is more inclined towards the latter example, although it is far more complex.
In conclusion, I chose the museum of prehistoric life as my novel experience of choice, which was especially unique during the pandemic. Walking and observing through mostly empty halls allowed me to contemplate and think about life and its core nature. Throughout this journey, I realized that the good life is found in goodness because happiness and sacrifice are two sides of the same coin.
References
Cieslik, M. (2019). The happiness riddle and the quest for a good life. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kornfeld, M., Frison, G. C., & Larson, M. L. (2016). Prehistoric hunter-gatherers of the high plains and Rockies. Milton Park, Abingdon: Routledge.
Petsche, J. (2015). Prehistoric life: An examination of the history of life and evolution. San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.
Rich, P. V., Rich, T. H., Fenton, M. A., & Fenton, C. L. (2020). The fossil book: A record of prehistoric life. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.