It is hard to feel significant in the face of a limitless universe. Should we even try? Is the quest for significance just an excuse to be ruthlessly ambitious, to "leave our mark"? Is it a misplaced addiction that ultimately leads to ego problems?
Perhaps trying to be significant is like trying to be happy - you end up chasing away the very thing you desire. Maybe we can experience significance when we forget about it, and concentrate instead on living a solid, simple life.
“There are more stars than there are people. Billions, Alan had said, and millions of them might have planets just as good as ours. Ever since I can remember, I’ve felt too big. But now I felt small. Too small. Too small to count. Every star is massive, but there are so many of them. How could anyone care about one star when there were so many spare? And what if stars were small? What if all the stars were just pixels? And earth was less than a pixel? What does that make us? And what does that make me? Not even dust. I felt tiny. For the first time in my life I felt too small.”
- 6 foot tall, 13 yr old Liam, in Frank Cottrell Boyce, Cosmic
I love that you quoted a kid's book. I work at an elementary school library and it has some of the best books I've read.
ReplyDeleteDonna
The author, Frank Cottrell Boyce, has seven kids!
DeleteSome the most memorable books for me were written for children.
what page is this on??
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