It’s a big place, the world we live on. Sometimes we feel like we’re stuck, finite, in our place. When the world feels small, remember of what Carl Sagan said: “If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the universe.” Its’s a loaded quote that can mean many things given the context, but the I’ll spell out my own interpretation—I do write this shitty blog after all, and I get to call the shots here, so deal with it, homie—because I had a vodka and Sun Drop (is it orange, or grapefruit, or lime? So mysterious) which means I’m on a roll tonight. Don’t ever think you’ve got anything figured out. The entire human species is in its infancy and we’re still doing our best to make a mess of it, let alone figure out our own shit. We’re not even a blip on the the map of the universe.¹
Feeling Small As Optimistically As Possible
This is the Earth from the rings of Jupiter. A tiny little speck.
We’re pretty caught up in our day-to-day. Outside of the observation of our own eyes comes our own lives, and that doesn’t even consider our world and universe. When you get around to look at the stars, which you should do on regular occasion, you’ll remember how trivial all the politics and beliefs and fucking 9-5s really are; which is to say they really are. The universe is big and we have the opportunity to explore, but we’re too busy worrying which politician sent some emails from a different email address or who raises which tax, or doesn’t. It’s all fodder. Just look up, fella.
This isn’t supposed to make you feel small, just realize that you are, in the best of ways. Your life has purpose, and the lives you impact all jettison in different directions you can’t imagine yet, but you, as a human being, are tiny. But you can make a big impact; one single person, as tiny as they are, can change the course of history. Even if that history includes the stars.
Don’t Be A Drag, This Shit’s Cool, Man
We live in a really exciting time. I bore witness to the incredible invention of the Compact Disk, which revolutionized the world for about 20 years, that is to say not long at all. But The Internet, I was there for that too, and it’s come a long way so fast. In fact, it’s been moving so fast that no one really knows how to handle it. We’re experiencing the Wild West of technology, our Manifest Destiny of technology is spreading too quickly and that leaves a lot of “Cowboys and Indians” still being played. But we have fucking holsters for our smart phones now, which is way less cool than a six-shooter (“Yellow-Belly” sic. Back to the Future 3)
By the time you read this the internet will have spread in a way I can’t fully imagine, probably to where it’s not really referenced as “the internet” anymore. It’s just going to be connectivity, or
I mean, this thing provides the internet now, but by the time you’re around it will be old-school. We have wires too, sure, but wires are for chumps.
implied, that everything must be as such. Which is really cool, honestly. It’s the frontier, and this blog is just on a wagon train heading west, with 100lbs of buffalo in tow, as long as that asshole Jeremiah stops getting typhoid fever.² This is just the beginning, and if everyone can chill the fuck out about it for a minute, it will be a pretty amazing tool to propel us into the future. We are just talking monkeys after all…
Time Speeds Up, But Only When You Don’t Want It To
When you’re young, time moves very slowly—there are studies to show that this is actually a fact, our perception of time based on our size—so we don’t know, when we are kids, how fast things are actually happening around us. As a 31 year old I can tell you now, with the utmost certainty, that ” he’s heating up,”³ that is to say, time, or my life. I was a kindergartner (a German word, btw) not terribly long ago, waiting to be a 5th grader; but I was 25 just yesterday trying to memorize the menu of a seafood restaurant at my first waiting-tables job. Life speeds up, and sometimes it frightens me how fast it’s moving.
So, while you’re young, strong-headed, and probably a shithead, just remember to pause. Think about the history, the lives that have come before you and the lives that will come after you, and think about how your fleeting moment on this organic spaceship is going to be best served. What is the biggest impact you can make? Are you going to ring in the future, history, or are you going to sit idly by and let it roll over you? The choice is yours, just don’t forget to look up and see the stars on occasion. It will remind you.
¹ I just wrote down a note to show you how big the universe is, buddy; it’s huge. It is so huge I can’t even begin to describe it, but I’ll do my best when I show you.
² Oregon Trail, and if you don’t know that by now you are a the true Lost Generation.
³ NBA Jam circa 1993 (holy shit; before fact-checking the year I guessed it correctly) Other important soundbytes include and are not limited to: “he’s on fire,” “monster jam,” “ugly shot,” and “count it.” Feel free to use these in casual conversation to feel cool, but only once you win your first match against The Chicago Bulls without cheats. No power-ups.