Self battle among the cosmos

***video to accompany this post at end.

Insignificant.

You might read that as relatable — or “so what.” That’s the point.

Have you taken the five seconds to really understand your place in the universe? Basically, take a look at the Pale Blue Dot photo. You are not 5'9.5" tall — you might, at best, be the tiniest grain of sand. And yet we compete, judge, sacrifice, waste time — and to what end? Death? The slow crippling of our bodies?

Humanity — depending on where or if you consume content — is becoming less human. From nuclear threats to droughts to war. As the great songwriters have expressed: what is it good for?

We have kids (or don’t), and every instinct, from what I can tell, is to give our kids a better life than we had. It’s always forward — thoughts, dreams, “one day” accomplishments. And yet, before we know it, we are faced with our own mortality. We say things like life is short, live in the moment, or legacy — made-up words to assign feeling to the meaning of life.

Yet we’ve all witnessed someone tormented by the weight of their success, when the innocence of their pursuit was to make something for themselves or their family, friends. Then that seed grows into people, customers, markets. And without much preparation, they are thrust into a spotlight — or their bank account swells beyond any realm of “human” imagination. You’d think it’s conveyed as earned, deserved — for some epic accomplishment. Then we build gated compounds to keep people out. We use private access airports, banks not in the country, and begin to hide. Partly security, partly shame.

And in the end, the pursuit of legacy — did it lead to a breakthrough? Eh. The guy who gave us the polio vaccine — that was noble. Not noble? The guy who invented dynamite (you get it).

Give without wanting something back — can that exist? I don’t think so. Want to know the truth? I’ve cried for about 20 seconds when I stayed at an ultra-luxury hotel. I always want to touch it — have a martini at the best place and a beer at the worst. And ultimately, what made either place fantastic?

The conversation with the human on the left or right of me.

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You don’t need to believe me (our place among the stars).
Just watch this — The Speed of Light in Real Time