Srilanka, Oct. 19 -- Before he passed away, I was fortunate to see the legendary percussionist Zakir Hussain perform. At the beginning of his set, he explained that the earliest forms of human musical expression were rhythmic. Our ancient forebears stomped their feet and clapped their hands, discovering intriguing patterns. Human beings, in other words, have been making beats since - well - forever.

Similarly, compassion - and its contemplative cousin, empathy - also extend back into the deep time of the human story. The fossil record shows evidence of people caring for one another in compassionate ways stretching back tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of years.

Unmoored

Both of these ancient groundings matter...