“Do you imagine the universe is agitated? Go into the desert at night and look out at the stars. This practice should answer the question…..” ― Lao Tzu
The universe is a big place. It is, in fact, mostly unfathomable to us. We go about our daily business, worrying about this or fretting about that, all the while oblivious to the fact that we are standing on an incredibly beautiful blue globe hurtling through space at about 67,000 miles per hour and rotating at the same time at about 1000 miles per hour at the equator. Fairly mind boggling when one considers how perfectly everything needs to line up to avoid a major stellar catastrophe.
What would happen if the earth decided to rotate a little faster? It depends on how fast. An extra 100 mph would make our days shorter, around 22 hours instead of 24. Climates would be different, hurricanes stronger, and the oceans would be much deeper at the equator. Read this article from Popular Science called What Would Happen if Earth Started to Spin Faster if you want to think about this kind of stuff.
Sometimes it’s good to get some perspective about how small we and our problems truly are.
When Reality is Inconvenient – If this pandemic has taught us anything, and it should teach us a great deal by the time it is over, it is that sometimes reality just doesn’t suit the way we want things to be. The discussion and arguments over climate change have been a good example of that for many years. When the way we are used to living is more important to us than consequences, then there is a disconnect with what we feel is acceptable.
It should come as no surprise. It’s just the way we are built. When evidence came out about smoking killing people, millions still chose to smoke. The link between obesity and multiple diseases has become clear in recent years, but still the rate of obesity is on the rise. We exist in a state of denial, often choosing to sleepwalk through life completely oblivious to what is going on around us.
Until it affects how we are allowed to function, we don’t pay much attention. A serious disease is a problem, and we want pills or surgery to fix it so we can go back to how we were. Climates change but until we are threatened by the changes we just ignore them. Now there is a pandemic that is seriously inconvenient. Denial, conspiracy theories, and questionable decisions are running rampant. The sky is falling and no one knows exactly what to do about it.
Sometimes there are no easy answers. This appears to be one of those times. Strap yourself in, do what makes sense to you and keep your wits about you. Panic has never been a good solution for anything.
“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.”
― Thomas Paine
“The truth only hurts when you want to believe a lie.”
― Jennifer McVey