We dream. We dig. We connect (people and dots.) We create. We love.
And we do a lot of the opposite.
Still, couldn’t it all be in vain?
7.381 Billion.
That’s the estimated population of our world according to this clock.
That’s a lot of people.
Together, you and I account for .000000027097 percent.
That’s not a lot of people.
Compound this by what we know of our universe. You could say it’s pretty big. That’s just if you go out, which it seems you can do forever. You can also “go in” at the sub-atomic level. It seems here you can get pretty small and there may not be a limit to how small you can go. According to this National Geographic article, “Neutrinos are sub-atomic particles that have almost no mass and can zip through entire planets as if they aren’t there.” They were observed in 2011 “possibly” going faster than the speed of light which is something previously considered impossible. As recently as early this year, NASA reported stumbling upon something similar.
When caught in the glow of all of this, it’s natural to feel insignificant. You and I are just two humans surviving in an infinitely large/small universe. What could you and I possibly do that actually matters or makes a difference? Depending on a lot of variables, we’ve got at best 20 handfuls of Earth years to experience almost none of what physically exists when you put it in perspective. Yet, we live out a search for meaning almost daily. The pursuit of science on these frontiers is evidence of this. If it doesn’t matter, why do it?
Those who know me well know my leanings on spirituality and existence. I don’t share them here. I’m not going to now.
I will share three things I’ve observed in the last three days:
1) A group gathering in support of clean water and hope for a community of people most of them will never meet. The generosity of the first group is changing the future of an entire country. You can’t do this without changing our world’s future at the same time.
2) A man in his 30s sharing his life story-to-date. A lot of hurt, pain and redemption. His courage to choose a different life and to share what many of us burry like a corpse will change how others view him and themselves. This is the first step in changing your actions. Certainly, his daughters will know a different life than he did. You can’t do this without changing the world’s future at the same time.
3) A former co-worker passed away suddenly. I still don’t know all the details. I know he leaves a wife and son behind. This can’t happen without changing our world’s future at the same time.
Forgive the heaviness but it’s kind of the point. You can feel the weight of a universe that’s incomprehensibly large/small. You can be crushed by it. Just like the heft of the web of relatedness you and I are weaving with humanity. Either way, it’s a choice. Either way, you’re a part of it. You don’t have to dissect it to participate. You don’t have to understand it to know when something matters.
No matter how large/small something is, there’s a place for it.
It matters, percentages notwithstanding.
You matter, even if you don’t think that’s possible.
Just take a peek at our universe.
The more we dig and dream, the more we uncover.
Looks a lot like possibility from where I stand.
