...whatever it is you want. For me it's science, ultimate, and asians, but hey, thats just me.
I recently was watching this thing on 60 minutes about genotyping and companies that may or may not be giving people a legitimate idea of what their genetic makeup is and what similarity they share with people throughout the world.
What I found interesting about it, was the fact that the people involved had such a sense of euphoria (for lack of a better word) in realizing that there was someone out there that they shared a genetic identity with. They seemed so surprised like god had touched them with his finger of creation and gave them some gift of enlightenment. However, as a scientist, I am already convinced that we all share genetic material from people around the world, mainly because we all came from more or less the same crop of organisms.
I know that this will go against a lot of religious beliefs and truth be told, i think if people get some kind of meaning from this information, than good for them. However, in my opinion, the identity of this planet and everything on it, is purely a matter of chance. The universe and the amount of time that is involved in its creation/development is so far beyond the scope of human beings. With that being said, we cannot understand that in this universe the probability of random arrangement of molecules forming our planet and its constituents is just as likely as a black hole, a brilliant super nova, or, in most cases, empty space. The fact that this planet is even here is more or less like being struck by lightning or winning the lottery. It's a 1 in a million gagillion shot.
The reason why I think people have issues understanding this is because they are so focused on the top half of the fraction, as opposed to the bottom. We think we are the 1, we are the most valuable, precious material on this earth or in this universe. However, we don't realize that we are actually just 1 in a sea of unimportant numbers. The water particles on some comet orbiting another galaxy are made up of the same initial startup components as we are and there is as much meaning in them as there is in us.
We are just the lucky lottery winners. There is no rhyme or reason to our existence, no purpose. Just like any person that gets struck by lightning or finds a hundred dollar bill on the street, we were just lucky.
Where things really matter is what we do with our time here. If a person wins the lottery, would they spend all their money trying to understand how they won in the first place? Would they attempt to find meaning in their winnings? I would hope not, simply because it would be a waste of time and energy. In my opinion, the best course of action would be to enjoy the money while it lasts.
The transition to life is fairly simple when you look at things in this manner. We as human beings (rich or poor, tall or short, fat or skinny) are in the 0.00000001% field, much like lottery winners, and should be happy that we are even here at all. The other 99.999999% of the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms in the universe failed to manifest in a manner that precipitated life, ie they were the many that lost out.
I suppose there are people that need meaning, that need to think that there is some underlying purpose to why we are here. However, after a decade of higher education, I have found that the true purpose of life is the same for humans as it is for any other organism on the planet. Breed, do what you can to not get eaten, and try and fill the hours with stuff that is entertaining.
I think people tend to take themselves too seriously and we as people definitely do this as a whole. We are self-aware so we think we have some inherent purpose on this earth, but in all seriousness we have the same worth as a rock or a tree. The task then becomes, not what does life mean, but what does life mean to you. People are so consumed with expectations (external or internal) that they begin to think that there is some sort of operating manual for the human experience. However, in reality, you are as unique as it gets and the best way to live (in my opinion) is to simply enjoy the limited amount of time you have on this earth.
With that being said, things like money and materialism are really the evils of our world. People want to convince you that money and commodities matter because odds are they have a vested interest in your spending. Companies that market products want you to buy them so that they can have revenue. Yes their product might offer you something but in the end, you are giving them something back.
The reason I bother to bring this up is that people should always make informed decisions. Do you really want an iPod or do you just think you do? Do you really want a BMW or do you just think you do? I know that there are the gadget kids out there that want all the toys, but I find it really sad when people feel intense pressure to look or act a certain way, when in reality, life is to short to try and be someone/thing you aren't.
The bottom line is that there is no perfect way to live, there is no ideal existence. There is only what you have, based on the choices you make. In addition, failure is also a subjective term. If you can't reach a goal you have set for yourself, despite your efforts, it doesn't mean you are a failure. I have recently had to deal with this kind of thinking as a scientist with people putting pressure on me to become what they are in the scientific community, but truth be told, I just want to do what I want to do. I love to write and talk and teach and maybe I don't want to be a professor at a major university which means I'm not going to make the sacrifices to even try, it just isn't what I want.
I for one want to live the most bad ass life possible and I don't need/want anyone telling me how I should live my life. I know that there is no big plan or reason why I am here. I am not here to figure out how I got here. I am here to enjoy the time I have and I suppose I find it funny when people search for meaning when in reality, they are wasting the time god/the universe has given them.
just my thoughts
match unleaded
0 comments:
Post a Comment