The insignificant self

Most of us are so busy with our lives that we do not usually ever pause to consider the bigger picture. We are always rushing to get somewhere, or get something done. Too many things to do with too little time to complete it - our busy lives.

Consider this, zoom out a little, and we have the area we live in, the house, and the neighborhood we live in. A step further out some, and we get the city. Further out, we have the state, the country, the planet earth, solar system, galaxy, etc. What is happening to all of them, what is going on out there? That is when we start to realize how small and insignificant we are when compared to the whole. We are like atoms in the pen we use for writing on a piece of paper.We have been preoccupied with ourselves that we have forgotten the bigger picture, and have in some sense neglected it. We are so into living our lives and making it more comfortable, that we have forgotten that we are part of the bigger whole. Some may even argue that our modern society has become narcissistic.

The important thing is we are part of a community, that is part of the earth, which is part of the cosmos. Everything we do affects them all. Just as the existence of a collection of atoms in a particular formation that makes up the pen we use for writing. A single atom that is out of place, or lost, makes it less of a pen now. We do not know, nor claim to know, what would happen to a normal pen if it suddenly lost one of its atom, we can only guess at what will happen.

However, the point is, our lives are intimately intertwined with the grander scale of things, some of which are beyond our comprehension. Everything that we do, has a consequence somewhere, or sometime down the time line. Thanks to the mass media on global warming, I am sure most of us are already aware of that as one of the consequences of our actions. I am not trying to put anyone down, but merely pointing out that we should all stop living a selfish life. A life based around our own self, and start thinking about being more conscious of all around us, the environment, your neighbour, friends, the old man down the street which you do not know the name of, etc. Spare a thought for them, see if you can make a difference in their lives. It does not mean that we have to go out of our way to make a difference, just make some changes in the way you think about them. That can make a difference in their lives. The simple act of greeting someone you meet on the street can make a change in someone’s day. It all starts from the thought. When the opportunity arises, see if you can be off any service, or help, to them. Another example is recycling your waste (eg. recycling paper), it helps the environment. These are just examples of making a difference without going out of your way, or breaking a sweat. You will be surprise at how easy it is.