When you’re little, it’s common to count the night stars, only to find the more you count, the more appear. Later in life, education, travel, and experience reveal the same startling truth: You can never know it all.
Given the breadth and depth of nature, no human endeavor––science, religion, nor even Facebook–– can fully explain the universe.
We can’t even explain the size of humanity.
Population experts claim there are over 7 billion people on this one planet right now. Each person has their own experiences, customs, and values.
Beyond our earth, astronomers estimate there are billions, perhaps trillions of galaxies with their own attendant stars and planets. Somewhere in those swarms of gas and rock and light, one could safely assume there are even more people floating around the cosmos than we have here.
As we say on the lefse plains of Minnesota, Uff da.
Even though the totality of creation eludes our human frailty, but we can always understand more.
And should.
So rather than spending the day making New Year’s resolutions, check out this New Year’s reflection.
Understanding More
As we’ve seen in just the last century with the advances in science and technology, there is always more to see, more to do, more to learn. Here are five:
- First, the more we can put behind us, the farther we can move ahead. Don't hang on to the mistakes of the past. Embrace the possibilities of the future. For example, the sooner one forgets drinking the finger bowl at a fancy restaurant, the sooner he’ll eat more than Wendy’s or Subway.The social ramifications are endless.
- More than what we already know, we must recognize what we don’t know. Like why there are Brussels sprouts. Really. Somebody tell me.
- In our relations with others, remember there is more than one way to think, more than one way to feel, more than one way to live. Individually, we are not the world, although we want to be. Personally, I’d settle for being Nova Scotia, but…
- More joy, more love, and more patience lead to better relationships. Remember, people are the creation of God. All are valid. All are valuable. Even the those who told us leisure suits are sexy.
- The more we ALL know about ourselves, each other, and the world we live in, the better we will all be. As somebody once said, "Knowledge is strength. Ignorance is stupid." Or something like that.
I'm sure there are more possibilities. More is good.
