The Signature of All Things

by Elizabeth Gilbert

That the distribution of land and water across the face of the earth has not always been where it is now. That, based upon the fossil record, mosses appear to have endured all geological epochs since the dawn of life. That mosses appear to have endured these diverse geological epochs through a process of adaptive change. That mosses can change their fate either by altering their location (i.e., moving to a more favorable climate), or by altering their internal structure (i.e., transmutation). That the transmutation of mosses has expressed itself over time in a nearly infinite appropriation and discarding of traits, leading to such adaptations as: increased resistance to drying, a decreased reliance upon direct sunlight, and the ability to revive after years of drought. That the rate of change within moss colonies, and the extent of that change, is so dramatic as to suggest perpetual change. That competition and the struggle for existence is the mechanism behind this state of perpetual change. That moss was almost certainly a different entity (most likely algae) before it was moss. That moss—as the world continues to transform—may itself eventually become a different entity. That whatever is true for mosses must be true for all living things. Alma’s theory felt audacious and dangerous, even to herself. She knew she was in treacherous territory—not only from a religious perspective (though this did not much concern her), but also from a scientific perspective. As she marched...