This is the view I have through the doorway, as I sit inside the VIP Lounge pondering heavy matters. Look at the “Big Picture”, framed by the doorway. Study it closely, corner to corner. What did you discover?
- Rocks, trees, plants, grass, a gravel path, a wooden door? A spoon? A bowl? A feather? Some lost keys? Candies strewn all about? A hobbit? A hobbit who needs a belt?
Or…
- A spoon used as a shovel by the hobbit?! A bowl used as a hot tub by the hobbit?! A feather used as a sunshade by the hobbit? Some stolen keys?! Candies used as bait for a potential mate?! A hobbit who moons people?!
It’s a world unto itself, so easily overlooked. Yes, that’s a human inclination; as is, one’s biased perspectives.
First, a word to the wise. You’re gonna’ need to hold on tight. The next few slogs you receive are a reckoning with reality, something of a reconciliation between the Human Experience and the Cosmic Experience. Yes, there is a great deal of disharmony at the present time. So, to keep things straightforward, we’ll look inside the frame at only a few elements found in the Big Picture.
Let’s begin with … Space
There are many ways to examine the concept of Space within the Big Picture. One way is to look at our space on Mother Earth (“The Human Experience”); and then, to look at the broader space across the universe (“The Cosmic Experience”).
Mother Earth
So, let’s review Mother Earth’s geography and its effect on the Human Experience. When one takes a trip around the whole world they acquire a newfound appreciation for the vastness of Mother Earth. It can be a life-changing experience for someone to travel 25,000 miles across the oceans, the continents, the mountains, the deserts, and so on… only to end up right where they started.
No doubt, exploration was much easier before the last time Pangea broke apart, when it was just one island world surrounded by the Great Ocean of Dragons. Today, in a lifetime, one cannot possibly explore every nook and cranny of Mother Earth. We’re just too small and slow to traverse all the oceans and seas, and to also dissect all the diversity on the breakaway continents.
Even if someone on Earth looks within their own human geography, one finds a very big world. Our bodies contain 30-40 trillion blood cells, seven trillion nerve endings, our brains contain 86 billion neurons, our DNA contains 3 billion base pairs, and our skin has about 5 million pores. Our nervous system stretches over 45 miles, all encased and formed within a 5 1/2’ long vessel of varying circumference, formed primarily by bone, tissue, muscle, fat and water.
Yes, geography within the Human Experience is quite extensive and is likely to never be fully explored, and much less likely to be fully understood.
The Cosmos
Now, let’s turn to the Cosmic Experience. The known cosmos, the universe, is a much, much bigger place than Mother Earth. In fact, it is so big that it’s measured in “light years”. A light year is how much time the speed of light travels in one year (about 5.9 trillion miles!). Of course, a human being cannot live long enough to travel even one light year, because it would take about 17,000 human years to do so.
Based on the “observable cosmos”, estimates commonly size the universe as being about 93 billion light years in diameter. There are an estimated two trillion galaxies in the observable cosmos. However, that’s only the oldest light we can observe. Some skeptical stargazers estimate the universe may be more than 250 times greater in size than the current estimate. If such skeptics took the sizing of the cosmos up by as much as 250X, that means there could be more than 500 trillion galaxies! Yes, in a nutshell, Cosmic scale is incomparable to Mother Earth’s scale.
Understanding the scale and scope of the universe will likely be an eternal pursuit. Today, we struggle to comprehend just how big the universe really is because it is difficult to compare it with anything else. While we think we understand the concepts of space, the unbounded scale of the cosmos imposes limits on our comprehension. Yes, when sizing the cosmos, no one truly knows its boundaries. Or, if “boundaries” are even a relevant concept when referring to the cosmos.
In fact, the scale and scope of the Human Experience and the Cosmic Experience are simply beyond anyone’s three-dimensional spatial grasp.
I recall sitting in my VIP Lounge and composing the following little ditty, at another time of great disharmony, shortly after the collapse of the Inca Empire. I recall them being rather nice, fun-loving people, except for their penchant for human sacrifice. Fortunately, they lived on a breakaway continent, and we only made short-term B&B stays there. So, while it’s quite old, I hope this composition will help clear away any remaining fog obscuring your vision.
The Big Picture
Like many, I forget the big picture
Often overlooking natural scripture
And failing to see God’s glorious light
As I sleepwalk through ordinary life
I suppose like so many others
My eyes see through shutters
But, if you let your mind travel
You transcend time and space
So many mysteries to unravel
Mysteries each of us can trace
Things we could know, things we could see
Things that set us free, before it’s time to go
As much as anything, for any sleuth
Our insignificance is at the forefront
And that’s an unassailable truth
Each of us should really confront
Yep, humankind’s greatest failing is our egocentricity
Even if our collective wisdom is an infant’s somniloquy
Yep, our world is full of unimaginably large things
Even if omniscience is claimed by far too many ding-a-lings
We’re not meant to be at the center of anything
We’re not meant to reach the edge of all understanding
We’re like fragile molecules clinging helplessly to a grain of sand
The unbounded power and glory of it All, humbling to any woman or man.
Assessment
Ok, that’s enough astronomical geography and poetic moaning. Suffice to say, the geography of the Human Experience and the Cosmic Experience involve eye-opening numbers and a great need for further reconciliation.
It is interesting to note that, thus far, we haven’t identified any other planets as welcoming as Mother Earth. So, temper your wanderlust.
Yes, there are likely hospitable planets out there in the Cosmos. Some may far exceed the beauty and comforts of Mother Earth. However, the hard truth is… you will never visit them.
The only way we, or our descendants, will ever travel around the entire expanse of the universe is to take the trip inside our minds.
Upon consideration of the Human Experience embedded within the Cosmic Experience, doesn’t any exhibition of insecurity, hubris or egocentricity seem both embarrassing and ridiculous?
Consider your place in the All of it All. You aren’t all that matters in the world. Are you famous, are you a celebrity, are you moneyed-up? So, what?!
Don’t get too big for your britches. You are an itty, bitty, little ting.
As Mother Earth hurtles along, cosmic dust is gathering on us and everything else, and that dust is inside you. It has been inside your forebearers since humankind first appeared. You may have heard Pangeans say, “We’re All Stardust”. It’s true, believe it.
You are not at the center of things. You may feel like the world is closing in on you, or you may feel like you are rising above the crowd. Such is not the case. All of it is connected, “All” is “One”.
So, a little respect, a little humility, a little gratitude is in order.
The next time you feel the need to screech and howl about dis or dat, the next time you want to get on your high horse, the next time you want to strut around like you’re the cock of the walk… think again.
That’s right, wake up! The Human Experience and the Cosmic Experience are one and the same. You will feel as One when you embrace the Power and the Glory of it All.
Skol, My Beloved Pangeans!
Next Time, We’ll Consider Time!!