The Significance of the Insignificant

“I am only one, but still I am one. I can not do everything, but still I can do something.” – Edward Everett Hale

I steal under the warmth of my bedcovers and almost immediately drift off into a dreamy state of tranquility and bliss. Another arduous day has passed. Today, like any other day, I attended school, helped out at the restaurant, slaved over my physics problems and the other more friendly subjects, chattered and giggled amongst my friends, sang a few tunes to lighten up, and worked with a diligence on my college applications. Today has been a very banal day for me, yet I know that some way or another I have influenced other people and their decisions and situations. Today, I have added one more tiny mark on the infinite vastness of the cosmic picture. My thoughts meander but finally transport me seven years into my past.
My brother and I are lying side by side in the dry, golden Californian grass on the hill in our backyard. We gaze absentmindedly upwards, captivated by the thousands of twinkling, little diamonds sprinkled across the breadth of the night sky and arrested by the mysteries of the millions of billions more hidden too far into space to be seen.
“Do you think there could be alien life somewhere out there?” I ask for the zillionth time. The answer never fails to fascinate me, and it always sparks an interesting conversation.
“Of course, there has to be! The universe is almost infinitely large and is expanding at a rate faster than the speed of light. There are 500 billion galaxies in the universe and each contains billions of stars. About 10% of all stars have planetary systems, and it is thought that 1 in 10,000 of these planets are the right size and distance from their suns. You do the math,” answers my smart aleck brother with confidence.
“Do you think there is a plan for us? What if everything happened only by chance?”
This question isn’t so easy to answer. Too bad statistics can’t be quoted to explain everything.
“Well, if there is a God, I think His plan for me is to become an astronomer and work for NASA, find the cure of cancer, and earn a lot of money so I can help feed hungry people,” I pronounce, aware of my own overly zealous optimism.
“And I will be the chief Supreme Court justice and a physicist,” announces my brother happily.
We return our eyes to gaze fondly at the stars while we whisper our dreams into the night, refusing to acknowledge what statistics clearly stated. We two make an insignificant impact on the boundless expanse of the universe. Clearly, this is one of those things that statistics can’t explain as we are obviously very important individuals!
I momentarily stir awake from my childhood reverie and smile. Tomorrow I’ll add another small dent in the cosmic picture, but this one I’ll try and make a little bigger and better than the one I made today.