While it is important to understand the power the individual possesses in effecting meaningful change around him through his pursuit of liberty, excellence, virtue, and truth, occasionally it’s helpful to understand our relative insignificance in this farcical tragedy we call life. We humans are the accidental evolutionary result of a long series of fortuitous events; 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang, 4.5 billion years since the formation of Earth, orbiting in the Goldilocks Zone of an inconsequential middle aged star which lies on the Orion Arm 2/3 of the 25,000 light years away from the massive black hole core of our Milky Way galaxy. Our beloved Sun is only one star of about 300 billion in our galaxy, all of which are undiscovered and unexplored. Our galaxy is one of a constellation of about 300 billion galaxies in our universe, all of which are undiscovered and unexplored. Indeed our universe may even be only one of an immense number of multiverses that appear and disappear, integrate and disintegrate, expand and contract in seemingly chaotic manner much in the way that bubbles come and go as froth on the surface of the ocean current.
Given the enormity of all this it would be hubris of the highest order to believe that, in the grand scheme of things, our actions, though important they may seem to us, will change anything that would have inevitably happened to the stars, planets, and galaxies around us. With this portrayal of our infinitesimality I am not advocating to go out and act like lunatics by indiscriminately assaulting, stealing, raping, and killing in the name of insignificance. Rather I am urging everyone to spend more time doing the things you love with all people you love given the limited eye blink of a lifespan we all have been given. For in the end when you are decrepit and laying on your death bed, what will you be thinking about? What regrets will you have in your life that you wished you had done? That girl who you were too shy to approach will never have known you! That book you always wanted to write will never be written! That painting you always wanted to paint will never come into existence! That book you always wanted to read will never get read! That stand up comedy skill you always wanted to develop will never be acquired!
Nobody asked where, when, or how to be born. We all appear here thoroughly by happenstance. However through our actions, morality, and magnanimity we can increase the quality of our respective lives and, for the most part, the environment in which we die. Our destiny is not discovered, it is made! Therefore success is not a matter of coincidence, but a matter of habit. Get busy living your life in such a way that you will be proud to recount stories of your adventures with your grandchildren. For what will you tell them when they ask you, “What did you do when the insolvent, murderous, imperialistic US regime was in its death throes?” Will you tell them you stood quiet, paid your taxes, and obeyed the “laws” of tyrants? I hope you will have a better answer than that.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
Helen Keller
Just do good things
A practitioner of Eastern Healing arts with degrees in Acupuncture and Chinese medicinal herbs, I have always questioned the status quo, a path which led me to peaceful anarchism. Through my journey, I have worn many hats, that of a classical pianist, avid chess player, philosopher, comedian, and now father of two little anarchists. My wife brands me as a Cultural Critic, but I am simply following my thirst for knowledge and passion for writing.
