A lot of people have a feeling of emptiness once they begin delving into Astronomy. They begin to understand how amazingly vast the Universe is, and, in a greater scheme of things, how insignificant our tiny blue planet happens to be. However, I find it uplifting -- no matter how stressed I am, upset I've become, or how angry I am, no matter what evils I commit, or wrongdoings I take pleasure in, in the end, they don't really matter.
In this giant cosmic stage, we're nothing but a speck. I, for one, find it refreshing that everything I do, or feel, is in the moment. My anger or frustrations won't exist in millions of years, and evils committed by not only me, but everyone on Earth, will be forgotten ages before the end of the Universe.
What I carry with me each day is the knowledge of this, and the respect I have for nature and space. And while I'll be forgotten in just a few hundred years, I now have the ability to learn and share information and experiences about our natural world, and our small home within the vast city of stars, planets, and the unknown.
I suppose what I'm trying to say, is live for the moment. While in the greater scheme of the cosmos, it may not seem important, it truly is. We have a very short amount of time to learn all we can, and experience everything we'd ever want. While it won't take millions of years to visit the Grand Canyon, see the rain-forests, or look at the stars, you'll not forget it for a lifetime. And really, isn't that all the time you need?
posted by
samhollifield
