We are an infinitesimal dot on the timeline of existence, yet we feel like our words and actions are loaded with way more significance than our stature indicates.
I’ve been struggling to formulate this idea. Even now, I can’t quite get my hands on what I’m trying to say, so I’ll skip ahead. I can’t explain in great detail how and why it’s so, but here’s how I’ve come to think about the conflict between our insignificance and the infinity of existence and the universe:
The centre of your universe is not the centre of the universe.
Let me illustrate this with a comparison. I’m 190 centimetres tall. The planet whose surface my feet are resting upon has a diameter of 12,742km. Which means that the diameter of the earth is 6.7 million times larger than me.
I am, quite literally, a speck compared to the rest of the world.
I am also something way smaller than a sub-atomic particle when compared to the entirety of the universe.
I find that kind of soothing. Don’t you?
Swell & Cut 