The freedom in being small.

               I find that a lot of people have a very difficult accepting that they are very small and indeed, their entire lives and the planet on which our history as a species has (up until the past century) been wholly confined to is very small in relation to the cosmos. The Christian religion that preaches that we are infinitely small and flawed in comparison with God still has claimed for thousands of years that Earth (and more precisely, man’s place on Earth) was the reason for creation, the nexus of meaning and purpose in the universe. I've encountered people who have such phobias about the fact that they are so small in scale in relation to the universe that they will refuse to talk about outer-space, comets, stars or stellar objects of any nature. I could say that there is “selected ignorism” in this, and I could say that there is a profound arrogance in believing our species is the reason for creation, but that is not the point of this article. It is, rather, that while it seems that some are threatened or even horrified in the fact that they are one person, on a planet among 7 others orbiting a star, of which there are 70 sextillion in the known universe (That is 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000), I find it exhilarating.

               When I am dealing with a particularly stressful situation, a sort of meditation I use is to envision myself from outside my body, then slowly grow farther and farther away from myself, journeying higher and higher into the Earth’s atmosphere. Eventually I pass it and am out in the vacuum of space looking down at the Earth. I do not stop there however; I fly farther and farther away until I can see the whole of the solar system in front of me, then the Milky Way galaxy made up of its 300 Billion stars, then the Virgo Supercluster which contains between 50,000-100,000 galaxies and finally… to the universe itself and its 70 sextillion stars. I linger there a moment, trying to contemplate its immensity, which is nearly impossible. I think about how old it is… 13.77 billion years in age. I think about its evolution from an infinitely small and dense point into the unparalleled beauty before me. Then, I begin my descent; down into the Virgo SuperCluster again, into our Milky Way Galaxy, into our own familiar solar system, into the Earth’s atmosphere and all the way down until I am looking down at myself again.

               After this meditation, I think about what it was that was causing me so much anxiety before. Financial problems, relationship problems, family problems, physical problems, whatever they may be. They are so incredibly small and insignificant after mentally journeying through The Universe that their effect on me begins to lessen. The realization that I am so small (and so are the problems that plagued me) gives me a new-found sense of freedom. I am merely one life of trillions that have lived on this world. So, why should I become anxious about what others may think of me? I’ll be gone in the blink of an eye. Why should feel forced into doing something that I believe is wrong or makes me unhappy? My loudest scream would have no hopes of being even a whisper among the stars. Why not shrug off the burden of useless tradition and expectation in favor of what is important to me? In the Billions of years that follow my death, my name will be forgotten along with all that I was. So why not shed that stress and anxiety that was weighing me down so I can live life lighter? This moment is all I have, and soon it will belong to someone else. The burden of being the center of the universe and its reason for creation is one I am glad I (along with all of our kind) do not have to bare. Because I am small (along with all of you), my freedom is greater, my sense of wonder is stronger and, in fact, I have fewer limitations. So, next time you feel as though you are overwhelmed by your problems, and they seem so big that they will swallow you whole I suggest that you take a mental journey through the universe. I would wager Atlas seldom loved the weight of the world resting upon his shoulders, please take it off of your own.

Everyone is a hero in their own tale.

To begin this blog, I thought it necessary to write something about myself; explaining who I am and what is important to me. So the following is just that.

Everyone is a hero in their own tale, on their own quest and the boon of the quest is self-enlightenment and betterment. To break beyond the confining expectations that society (whichever society) puts on them and see past the delusion of conformity, ritual, tradition and material possession is the ultimate goal of the human agency (whether it be Ego, the Soul, Brahman, Emptiness or something else entirely).  The Taoist and Buddhist hermits of China called it “escaping The Red Dust” as they climbed into the cold, mist covered mountains to see the world as it was meant to be seen. They lived a life of meditation to find that truth. Alexander Supertramp (Christopher McCandless) gave away thousands of dollars after graduating from college and left the “Red Dust” of his life by traveling alone across The North American continent, exploring forests and ocean fronts, canyons and prairies, mountains and deserts until he died in the wild, looking the truth of unfiltered, uncensored life directly in the eyes. To escape the rigidity and mechanical nature of his own life, John Muir set out one day on a walk from the upper Mid-West that took him down to Florida, where he hopped on a boat that took him to Cuba, South America and eventually California where he fell in love with Yosemite Valley. He was only at home when traversing the wild beauty of nature, where he would “wash his soul clean”. These are the men that have taken the reigns of their life and realized that they were the heroes in their own tales.

 They sought truth, beauty, experience and a connection with nature and gave up (either gradually or all at once) the “comforts” and “security” the conformism society had veiled them in. This is my goal, to govern myself through ebb and flow of the seasons, the rising and falling of the sun, and the waxing and waning of the moon. Though, I do not only wish to become individualized, I wish to become the best individual I can become based on my own standards of importance. I wish to be healthy and strong through constant exercise and physical challenge as well as fueling my body with real, unprocessed, natural food from the earth. I wish to be grounded and balanced through Zazen meditation, Tai Chi, Yoga and most importantly harmony with nature. I wish to be expressive and creative through the creation of art, the playing of music and the practice of writing. I wish to be knowledgeable through study of all things possible in my given time. I wish to live a pure life by abstaining from mind altering substances, unhealthy food and drink, socially ascribed tradition and cheap, shallow amusement. I wish to live an ethical life, by being Vegan and never willfully committing an act that will harm another creature and speaking out against injustices done to animals all while regularly taking steps to reduce the negative environmental impact I have and devoting time to protect, clean and sponsor nature. And finally, I will limit myself to few material possessions and dedicate platonic and romantic love to a very limited number of people as so I can dedicate it wholly to them. All these things I strive to do in my life, slowly but relentlessly bettering myself in all ways natural and real while harmonizing with the natural world, exploring the forests, mountains, oceans and deserts of the world. In this life, I will journey into the wild of both the world and myself and see past The Red Dust.