his·to·ry (hst-r)
n., pl. his·to·ries. Abbr. hist.

1. A narrative of events; a story.
2. 1. A chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or an institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events: “The queens in history compare favorably with the kings” (Elizabeth Cady Stanton).
   2. A formal written account of related natural phenomena: a history of volcanoes.
   3. A record of a patient's medical background.
3. The branch of knowledge that records and analyzes past events: “History has a long-range perspective” (Elizabeth Gurley Flynn).
4. 1. The events forming the subject matter of a historical account.
   2. Something that belongs to the past: Their troubles are history now.
   3. An interesting past: a house with a history.
5. A drama based on historical events: the histories of Shakespeare.

We are a fortunate species indeed.  At least parts of our history have survived through time, parts which show us some of what happened around the peak of the previous Terra Cycle.

We have Woolly Mammoths frozen solid in Siberia, a Biblical account of a Great Flood, artifacts of a civilization and culture that existed during and before the previous Terra Cycle peak, and geological records showing that the Terra Cycle has occurred dozens of times in the past several 100,000 years.  We have science that can verify history.  We have science that can also give us a better outcome after the current Terra Cycle has passed its peak.

When looking at our historical records and into the past, it is amazing that our species survived an incredible planetary event 10,000 years ago and yet nearly wiped itself out several times in the process of re-evolving into a great society.  History is such a great gift to future generations that it should be carefully preserved and presented in such a way as to benefit our species.

The incredibly senseless wars and genocide campaigns, all motivated by selfish and isolationist concepts embedded in religious doctrine, was every bit as devastating to humanity as the Terra Cycle.  We can do better.  We now have several millennia of evidence that war, hatred, isolationism, mistrust, and elitism in the name of one God or another ultimately leads to more war, hatred, isolationism, mistrust and elitism.  These qualities are not useful, especially when facing a huge natural disaster.

We can put history to use for our survival.  As painful as earlier humanity was, it can serve as a sober reminder of what we need to do to transcend our mistakes and strengthen our species.  History can also be used to identify the Terra Cycles of previous times and give us a clearer understanding of the physical conditions we need to prepare for.