Sunday, September 17, 2017

Faster than a speck on a speck on a speck





"Myself, I would like to believe that we were all put here for a reason - to matter."



Here it is, a drop dead perfect Sunday on a early fall afternoon. Other than the Vikings stinking up the field in Pittsburgh, all is well. Here we are, situated nicely in our town, situated in our state, which lies within the greatest country the world has ever known. And we live on a planet which is perfectly suited for us. For those in the faith, we believe this planet was created by God this way for use to dwell on. For those outside the faith, the following is for you.

Every morning when you wake up, stretch your legs, get out of bed to make coffee, you are the center of the universe. Your eyes, your ears, your sense of smell, your tactile senses are what keep you connected with your universe. Some mornings, after you get up from a good night's sleep, you feel very good. In fact, you might as well be the master of your universe. Now if it is okay, let me burst that bubble just a bit.

You, I, and everyone we know, are really nothing more than a speck on a speck on a speck. Huh? What does that mean? We live on Planet Earth, a beautiful rocky planet situated a perfect distance from a star which is the right size and the right age. On our planet, we are spinning around, one revolution every 24 hours. Even though we don't feel it, this spin causes us to move at 1,000 mph every day we make that revolution.

In addition, our perfect Planet Earth travels around the sun once every year. It is that rotation, along with our 23.5 degree tilt, which gives us our seasons. On that trip around our sun, we are all traveling at 67,000 mph. Wow! Now that is moving! Wait a second! Not so fast. Our solar system, is also moving within the Milky Way galaxy. How fast? About 500,000 mph to make one revolution around the galaxy. 

Okay - Is not the universe expanding also? If so, how fast are we moving with expansion? Put your seat belt on bucko - this is a fast one. Our galaxy is traveling through the universe (through expansion) at 1.3 million miles per hour! Whoa! 

As we sit on Planet Earth, we are smaller than a speck. Our Earth, which is part of our solar system, is smaller than a speck in the Milky Way galaxy. Our Milky Way galaxy is smaller than a speck in the universe. So no matter how important we might feel, we are just a speck on a speck on a speck. And by the way, us specks are going a zillion miles an hour in all directions!

However, if you are in the faith, you know that your speck, my speck, everyone's speck, all matters. We all matter a whole lot more than just being  "specks". Myself, I would like to believe that we were all put here for a reason, for a purpose - to matter.

That way being a speck on a speck on a speck is not insignificant - it is kind of cool. It is cool knowing that in the scope of the universe, we may all be infinitesimally small - but in the eyes of the Creator of the universe, we are not small at all.

2 comments:

  1. And in this vast universe, are we the only place where something crawled out of the primordial ooze and evolved into mankind? If God created Man on Earth, what is the point of the rest of the ever expanding universe? I guess all will be revealed to the enlightened at the Rapture.

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  2. 45 will dominate proceedings at the U.N. this week, and may even win some credit from other leaders for taking a more constructive approach to reforming the organization, he is ultimately in a highly vulnerable position in Turtle Bay.
    Even a gradual deterioration of relations with the Chinese and Russians in the Security Council could plunge his administration into a vastly deeper mess than it is in already.
    This prospect would haunt the thoughts of most presidents navigating the U.N. General Assembly.

    But 45’s mind may wander. How would he have refurbished the U.N.? He has never quite let this question go.
    In 2012, Trump tweeted that he was bothered by the “cheap” marble tiles behind world leaders speaking at the General Assembly. “I will replace them with beautiful large marble slabs if they ask me,” he added.
    Perhaps he will now renew the offer.
    It’s more fun to think about than nuclear war, after all.

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