I originally had the idea for this blog post about three months ago, but with the recent passing of one of my favorite people in the world, Mr. Stephen Hawking, I figured now would be a wonderful time to pay tribute to some of Mr. Hawking’s work. Plus if I’m being honest, I LOVE talking about space!!!
It’s somewhat serendipitous that last year was the first time I had ever read one of his books. I loved “A Brief History of Time” so much that I couldn’t wait to pick up another one of his Best -Seller's-“The Theory of Everything.” This book absolutely blew my mind and was by far my favorite book between the two, but I still highly recommend you read both!
Stephen Hawking was most famous for his work and research on black holes. Particularly, he spent most of his life trying to merge the theory of relativity with the theories of quantum mechanics. In essence, he tried to answer this question: Is it possible to merge the theories that govern the big things in our Universe, like planets and Galaxies, with things that are much smaller, like atoms and quantum particles?
One of my favorite parts about “The Theory of Everything” is Mr. Hawking’s discussion on time travel. According to some of his research, it’s actually possible to travel forward in time! Based on the math and the theory, if you were to get close enough to a black hole, due to its tremendous gravitational force, you could actually speed up time!!!! How freaking cool is that!?
I don’t know about you, but to me this stuff is super interesting! I can remember being a kid and getting so excited when the time of year would roll around where we got to study space! It’s always been one of my favorite subjects and even in my last semester of college I took an Astronomy class as an elective, just because I wanted to!
I know, I know, you’re probably thinking I’m a nerd (I can’t argue with you on that one) and you might even be wondering why I’m talking about space on a blog about mindfulness.
The truth is though, one of the reasons I haven’t lost my love for space is because it helps bring more perspective into my life the more I study it. I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase: “From ashes to ashes”, but in reality, we have more in common with the stars and planets then we do with ashes. We are, in fact made of the same material that makes up our solar system, stars and galaxies!
When I look at space and I see all of the dynamic and various types of ways matter chooses to express itself, I’m constantly humbled by the fact that we are all connected and come from the same source of energy. We all exist in the eternal now.
Space is great like that because it reminds us just how tiny we really are but at the same time, we see just how big we really are. We are but miniscule specks on a small planet, in a small galaxy in a vast, vast universe. But there is no denying, even based on a quantum level, that what makes you is the same thing that makes me. We are the universe experiencing itself through this particular form--human body. I cannot exist without you, and you cannot exist without me. That’s effing beautiful!!!
I think this is one of my favorite things about space. Not only are planets, comets, and exploding stars just awesome, but space reminds me that I am in some sense small but in some sense bigger than I could ever imagine. The vastness and the nothingness IS what I am.
Whatever the real meaning of life might be, space reminds me that I’m truly blessed to be here and share this reality with my fellow humans and with everything else that resigns within the universe.
I’ll leave you with this,
There was a study once done by a group of mathematicians who took it upon themselves to calculate the odds of you existing in this time, at this moment and precisely as you are. Guess what the odds were…
1 in 400,000,000,000!!!
That means, the probability of you being alive and conscious in this moment is one in every four-hundred-trillion!
Translation: You ABSOLUTELY matter, and your existence is an absolute MIRACLE!
So, make your life count and next time you look up into the stars and you feel small, remember some of the work Mr. Hawking did over his lifetime. You are small yes, but you are bigger than you’ll ever know or could possibly comprehend. We are all connected, and we are all one…
Thank you as always for reading. I appreciate you bearing through an article about space with me. I guess I couldn’t resist the chance to write about one of my favorite topics. We hope you have a wonderful week, and please let us know if there are other ways or techniques that you use to help you gain perspective, cultivate gratitude, and increase mindfulness.
Until next time,
Many many blessings!