Date of Entry: December 13th, 2018Doesn't it feel like we're at the centre of the universe?
As young children, we unquestionably believed to be the centre of the universe. We began by exploring and making sense of the world through our own lenses, and thoughtlessly dictating our needs to our parents. It took years to develop self-awareness; to recognize other people's needs, feelings, and perspectives; and, above all, to empathize. With maturity came a growing sense of consciousness, rationalism, and social morality.
For those of you reading this, you're most likely past that juvenile stage. If our friend was having a bad day, we'd try to cheer them up. Or if a stranger dropped their belongings, we'd help them pick everything up. Perhaps the vast majority of us have come to realize that we're not the only characters within the story. Moreover, what we struggle with now is realizing the context of our roles.
Often we subconsciously view ourselves as the universe's "protagonist." Our emotions seem to matter, consuming our thoughts and sensations. Our actions appear substantial, as we perceive their immediate consequences. Our personal problems come across as imposing hindrances to reality. If anything, our sensational presence on Earth make us feel not only worthy of, but entitled to universal attention, understanding, and justification.
As we each reside within our own matrix, reality distorts to fit our priorities, subjective interpretations, and biases. The physical world demands us not only to survive, but thrive. Thus, whenever we encounter obstacles in the precarious game of life, instinct prompts us towards adopting a self-important and victimized mentality. I realize that no human is immune to this self-centred mindset. It is a biologically inherent and a survivally advantageous by-product of our consciousness.
But that doesn't stop me (and probably all of you) from questioning, why should I matter? I am only one out of nearly eight billion living, breathing, thinking, feeling people. Moreover, I am merely an exacted conglomeration of cells of molecules of atoms, inextricably subject to a biological blueprint, the dynamics of chemistry, and — like every other conceivable "thing" in the universe — the governing laws of physics.
What makes me so different? What makes me special?
When I decide to stop and observe a busy street intersection, or stare wondrously into the night sky, I can feel myself shrink. How could I expect the world to cater to my trivial interests? Furthermore, how could I expect the world to even notice me amid all the chaos ... let alone care?
I'm tiny.
At this point in time, science has already taught us about our biological mundanity, our evolution from apes from amoebas, and our short history on Earth. Yet nonetheless, we don't like to think humbly of our existence.
Pride and egoism cause us to take on increasingly myopic outlooks of the world. The superiority complex inclines us to focus on ourselves, ignore objectivity, place ourselves on an imaginary pedestal, and waste our time and energy pursuing superficial ideals.
Proud nationalists may recall all thirteen billion years of history with an inflated, misrepresentative emphasis on their country. Proud religious fundamentalists may proclaim their holy text to be incontrovertibly true, and denounce anyone who says otherwise. Both of these parties behold an unquestioning sense of moral, intellectual, or even biological significance. These are certainly two extreme examples, but they highlight the extents to which pride cultivates a belittling, disdainful, and broken dialogue between the proud individuals and their counterparts. When excessive pride breeds hostility and misunderstanding, conflicts happen. Grudges are held. World wars were twice inflicted. The opposing bodies would spend all their time ignoring or undermining each other, all for the sake of a flimsy ideology or image they'd embedded into their identity. Rarely do they pause to ask, "why?," or whether, if they took the time to listen or picture the world from a different angle, they may recant their initial disposition.
No mortal creature is "perfectly right" or "all-knowing." Why must we waste all our time trying to prove our superiority? We all lack certain knowledge and experience, and there is always room to expand one's horizons. Choosing to assume ignorance, and instead, seek answers through learning, questioning, and experimentation are what enable true progress to happen. When a few individuals in history did just that (rather than take God's word for it), the Scientific Revolution was born.
While global or social pride often manifests into interpersonal discord, an enlarged individual ego may manifest into intrapersonal dissonance. Exceedingly proud individuals may do anything — even under unprincipled grounds — in order to build or preserve an attractive façade that garners attention, but does little to yield meaningful happiness or social good. When we perpetually picture ourselves as main characters on the grand stage, we then tend to dwell over the little things. For things we invest so much time, emotion, and effort in, our minds simply assume we have the right to whatever we worked for. Therefore when things don't turn out as we'd hoped, we are somehow convinced that the entire cosmos decided to be at odds with a petty ape. The issue turns into a blame game, and we get trapped without the incentive to move on.
Maybe every once in a while, we should take a step back, become more aware of our exaggerated self-importance, and try to humbly accept ourselves as mere observers and experiencers of the universe. Because are there really any substantial personal nor social benefits to spend your life trying to steal the spotlight or prove yourself to the world? On the grand scale, we aren't (and shouldn't think of ourselves as) any better, nor any more important, coming from a certain country or flaunting a Louis Vuitton bag. Those things are arbitrary.
So what if our name becomes irrelevant a hundred years from now? So what if our neighbour has a better car than us? Do we have any important reason to meddle with these aspects of the world? Not everything is about us...
What we need to focus more on is how we are faring in our roles as conscious observers and experiencers. This role means that we live with the opportunity to experience and interact with the universe, rather than subjugate it.
We're tiny, but we learn. We suffer. We love.
It's impossible to understand our role in the grand cosmos, but it is certainly possible to understand it on Earth. If we recognize that each and every human equally undergoes the aforementioned experiential phenomena, perhaps we'd take more time to exchange ideas with, reduce suffering amongst, and care for each other. Understanding what others may feel or think, we'd feel less sorry for ourselves, and instead spend that time trying to grow and move on.
Because at the end of the day, our tiny presence on a tiny planet only has a tiny lifespan. It won't matter if our tiny selves were once proven right or rich. What truly matters more is if they ever did their tiny part to help make the world a better place.
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