“For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner … on an unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies. … That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to understand that.” -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)
I really like this quote, because it reminds us that we aren’t the center of everything. Being humans, we are, in fact, quite conceited. About our intelligence, our ability to feel emotions, our potential to accomplish near impossible feats, and the belief that we are everything there is. It’s hard for us to take a step back and recognize the spectacles around us; to see the world through another creatures eyes. Our world is huge, perhaps even bigger than we might want it to be, and the universe is larger still. It is good for us to remember that we are nothing but the most microscopic of specs, in a giant, intricate web of galaxies. Yet, even in a smaller context, the same holds true. Out of the many diverse species on planet earth, we are by far not the most exceptional. If you look at the elaborate relationships of the animals around us, and how they have adapted to live in our world because we refused to adapt to theirs, we all of a sudden seem a whole lot less amazing. If only we could expand our minds, our emotions and our feelings, we might realize how small we are, and grow with that epiphany.
Copyright 2011 Abigail Chapman
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