The Universe and our place in it

I for one think the outer space is majestic and absolutely gorgeous just because of how unfathomably ever-expanding it is. We could go outside and look up into the sky. We’d spot a few pretty specs in the sky, shimmering and twinkling every few milliseconds. We could map out some of the constellations and if the light pollution isn’t so bad where you live, you could see the sky littered with all sorts of shiny objects ranging from huge gas giants, galaxies, black holes, and many more stellar objects.
Keep reading, because there is definitely an important point to this. Last year the JWST released a few pictures of the observable universe. These images were the hottest topic of space-tok, and the astronomical community was so emotional over these images. I too loved the images, but I was not aware of its depth. I was not aware of what these images represented, until I went down an in-depth astronomical rabbit hole where I absolutely lost myself. The proportion of the image is equal to just a grain of sand if you held in your fingertip. And there are at least forty-five-thousand galaxies in the image. The telescope took the most zoomed in shot of the tiniest fraction of the observable universe and there are at least forty-five-thousand galaxies in it, with its very own stars and planets.

Ever since then, I have had a new-found love for astronomy, but that’s unimportant. I’ve come across so much more information about the heaven above that has left me absolutely dumbfounded, easily plummeting myself into a severe existential crisis. Because as an overthinker, to think about how everything out there is so much more massive than all the things we know is so crazy, henceforth jumping to the one part where I lost it. If I didn’t exist at this very moment, literally nothing in the universe would change. I’ve never felt more insignificant in my entire life. Me, my belongings, my memories, my sorrows, my problems, my entire life, mean nothing in this stupendously vast universe. We collectively as living species, don’t matter. Our planet or the entire solar system could cease to exist, and it still wouldn’t matter. Then pray tell me, why we need to put up with paying bills, going to work every morning, why we need to put up with societal norms and all the man-made miseries because we have all come to a bewildering realization that none of it matters.
This is where I recover myself and my dearest readers from this never-ending abys of crisis. There is no answer as to why we must do all this despite how insignificant we are, but I’ve got a different perspective. In this gigantic, immeasurable universe, there is absolutely no reason for a planet to exist at the right distance from its star, just enough to sustain life in it. It’s got an atmosphere so we can breathe, we’ve got oceans to travel and fresh water to drink, we have other beings that help us survive as well as co-exist among us and despite the insignificance of our existence, we are here breathing and living a life. We live our very own stories and we have been living for a long time now. This comes to prove that we are not insignificant. We are here because our existence is important. Me, the writer and you, the one reading this, we are here because we matter. Our problems may seem humongous, but they are not. They are our problems, which means they can be dealt with. They are just the right amount for us to overcome and move forward.

We are quite literally made of stardust from many supernovas. We matter more than we can ever imagine. So, take some time off your routine, allow yourself to relax and rest, and give yourself some admirable appreciation just for existing all this time. Knowingly or unknowingly, each of us have a great impact in the lives of others. We need each other till our final breath and to know that we collectively exist on a beautiful blue planet with more humans like ourselves, is quite wonderful to think of. Take some time off from your draining wheel. This July allows you to loosen up and explore the world you belong to, with the people you wander this planet with, with the thoughts and the love you share for the little things, because even if you don’t think so, every little thing about you and your tiny little world will always matter.