Wow such beautiful scenery and beautiful writing Garrett! "It's a feeling of overwhelming bliss and joy and gratitude paired with a sense of insignificance. It seems like a paradox, but it's simply the duality of majesty and mortality; etymologically, this means feeling "the greatness of God" while acknowledging that I am "subject to death.""
I've always felt a bit deflated by this sense of insignificance sometimes, and like you, those feelings come up when faced with the vastness of earth, when i look over majestic gigantic landscapes - how do you find joy and liberation in it?
I also recently re-read the beginning of infinity by David Deutsch, where he talks about our how our cosmic insignificance may be overplayed... and that as creatures that can create knowledge about the universe, we are pivotal players in it. What do you think of that idea?
Hey Zan, thank you for reading and for your kind words. I find joy and liberation in the feeling insignificance when I remind myself that I’m significant to myself. And I like the idea that that’s enough.
I think our cosmic insignificance is important to remember, as long as it doesn’t lead to us forgetting the agency we have on Earth. We matter in this universe because we matter to ourselves and each other, and because we have the unique ability to decide what is meaningful in life.
Great writing, wonderful to follow your story. Yes indeed what a joy it is to feel so insignificant and yet so unique and important all at the same time. It gives us a better perspective on our journey, it brings us into the present moment wide awake and it gives us a better ability to remain open minded with our fellow conscious human beings. Great last line btw "I am wholly insignificant on the scale of the Universe yet holy and significant on the scale of myself." perfection!
Thank you, April, and well said! I do find it grounds me in the present to hold both those ideas at once — that we are insignificant and unique/important. It feels true to me, and either of those alone feels like a lie. I'm happy to hear that last line resonated. I appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts.
In my people’s faith we believe the earliest people chose death as they could not adequately appraise eternity. This is our Genesis story. Of course we will die. Yet to be close to death, to be out in a storm onward in danger feels more to me like living. That this marriage of our flesh and spirit isn’t permanent is perhaps more a reminder that living is a gift worth enjoying for eternity.
Hey Steven, thank you for reading! I agree that being closer to death can make you feel more alive, and being aware of the ephemerality of our existence is a reminder that life is a gift. Although, I'm not sure what you mean by "the earliest people chose death" and "worth enjoying for eternity." I'm not familiar with the idea of choosing death or opting into an eternal afterlife, as if we have a choice. Would you mind saying more about that?
In the Genesis narrative, life was designed for enjoying eternity with God but the warning God gives to humanity is that if they eat from the tree they will die. The first humans consumption becomes a consignment to death.
It was a consideration I was working through in response to your prompt:
Would you be grateful for what you have if everything in life were not fleeting and ephemeral, if you knew you could have it all forever?
For those of us who believe in life designed to be infinite, I'm humbled to find myself still struggling for gratitude at times. My best estimation of it for myself is that my gratitude comes not from the ephemeral or the eternal of life but that to me it is a gift whether for a moment or infinite, that it is a gift is the source of my gratitude.
Hopefully that makes sense. Would love to chat more again with you sometime as well. My best to you man!
This is so interesting, Steven, thank you for elaborating on it. I wasn’t sure if you were referencing Genesis and the Fall because I’d never thought about it as *choosing* death. I’ve always regarded the Fall as the story of man gaining the gift of divine knowledge — the knowledge of good and evil, self-awareness, sin.
I like what you say about finding gratitude in the fact that life is a gift, regardless of whether it is finite or eternal. However, I’d argue that Adam and Eve wouldn’t have had the awareness to see life as a gift. In Eden, before the Fall, they lacked self-awareness and divine knowledge and probably did not feel gratitude, because they were simply alive and were unaware of the possibility of not existing (like an ant or other animals who don’t have the faculties to ask these questions about the genesis of life). I would say that gratitude, like shame, is an emotion we humans could only feel after the Fall, after gaining self-awareness.
I appreciate you responding to the Springboard, and I’m grateful that it led to this exchange. If you’re open to it, I would love to have a call sometime to chat about Original Sin.
Wow such beautiful scenery and beautiful writing Garrett! "It's a feeling of overwhelming bliss and joy and gratitude paired with a sense of insignificance. It seems like a paradox, but it's simply the duality of majesty and mortality; etymologically, this means feeling "the greatness of God" while acknowledging that I am "subject to death.""
I've always felt a bit deflated by this sense of insignificance sometimes, and like you, those feelings come up when faced with the vastness of earth, when i look over majestic gigantic landscapes - how do you find joy and liberation in it?
I also recently re-read the beginning of infinity by David Deutsch, where he talks about our how our cosmic insignificance may be overplayed... and that as creatures that can create knowledge about the universe, we are pivotal players in it. What do you think of that idea?
Hey Zan, thank you for reading and for your kind words. I find joy and liberation in the feeling insignificance when I remind myself that I’m significant to myself. And I like the idea that that’s enough.
I think our cosmic insignificance is important to remember, as long as it doesn’t lead to us forgetting the agency we have on Earth. We matter in this universe because we matter to ourselves and each other, and because we have the unique ability to decide what is meaningful in life.
Thanks for your thoughtful questions!
Great writing, wonderful to follow your story. Yes indeed what a joy it is to feel so insignificant and yet so unique and important all at the same time. It gives us a better perspective on our journey, it brings us into the present moment wide awake and it gives us a better ability to remain open minded with our fellow conscious human beings. Great last line btw "I am wholly insignificant on the scale of the Universe yet holy and significant on the scale of myself." perfection!
Thank you, April, and well said! I do find it grounds me in the present to hold both those ideas at once — that we are insignificant and unique/important. It feels true to me, and either of those alone feels like a lie. I'm happy to hear that last line resonated. I appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts.
In my people’s faith we believe the earliest people chose death as they could not adequately appraise eternity. This is our Genesis story. Of course we will die. Yet to be close to death, to be out in a storm onward in danger feels more to me like living. That this marriage of our flesh and spirit isn’t permanent is perhaps more a reminder that living is a gift worth enjoying for eternity.
I’m enjoying following this series Garrett!
Hey Steven, thank you for reading! I agree that being closer to death can make you feel more alive, and being aware of the ephemerality of our existence is a reminder that life is a gift. Although, I'm not sure what you mean by "the earliest people chose death" and "worth enjoying for eternity." I'm not familiar with the idea of choosing death or opting into an eternal afterlife, as if we have a choice. Would you mind saying more about that?
In the Genesis narrative, life was designed for enjoying eternity with God but the warning God gives to humanity is that if they eat from the tree they will die. The first humans consumption becomes a consignment to death.
It was a consideration I was working through in response to your prompt:
Would you be grateful for what you have if everything in life were not fleeting and ephemeral, if you knew you could have it all forever?
For those of us who believe in life designed to be infinite, I'm humbled to find myself still struggling for gratitude at times. My best estimation of it for myself is that my gratitude comes not from the ephemeral or the eternal of life but that to me it is a gift whether for a moment or infinite, that it is a gift is the source of my gratitude.
Hopefully that makes sense. Would love to chat more again with you sometime as well. My best to you man!
This is so interesting, Steven, thank you for elaborating on it. I wasn’t sure if you were referencing Genesis and the Fall because I’d never thought about it as *choosing* death. I’ve always regarded the Fall as the story of man gaining the gift of divine knowledge — the knowledge of good and evil, self-awareness, sin.
I like what you say about finding gratitude in the fact that life is a gift, regardless of whether it is finite or eternal. However, I’d argue that Adam and Eve wouldn’t have had the awareness to see life as a gift. In Eden, before the Fall, they lacked self-awareness and divine knowledge and probably did not feel gratitude, because they were simply alive and were unaware of the possibility of not existing (like an ant or other animals who don’t have the faculties to ask these questions about the genesis of life). I would say that gratitude, like shame, is an emotion we humans could only feel after the Fall, after gaining self-awareness.
I appreciate you responding to the Springboard, and I’m grateful that it led to this exchange. If you’re open to it, I would love to have a call sometime to chat about Original Sin.
These photos :0