When the Big Bang exploded 14 billion years ago it infused the nascent universe with all the energy it would ever have. Hydrogen fusing into helium, for example, is the engine that drives the stars. Must have been some kind of explosion.
Gravity affects us all, as does time which are the two main components of the space/time continuum.
In our normal lives, space and time are measured, allotted, calculated and calibrated. We don’t see warped space, except maybe in our emotional lives, it looks all straight and normal to us.
We live together as individuals. Some paint graffiti on railroad cars, some manage the index funds portfolio for a major international investment bank.
We are like cells in a body - all together, of the same species, connected but having different purposes and different styles of doing things.
And if all my posits are correct then we can conclude a few things. Among them - that humans are unaware of, but not unaffected by, many things. And therefore, it seems to me, ignorance as a quality of being human should be acknowledged and examined.
What are we afraid of? Embarrassed to admit our ignorance? The vanity of man? The big brained ones unable to see themselves? The answer to that is probably ‘yes’. That’s why comedy is such a human staple. It’s found in all the cultures of the world because it allows us to look at ourselves without fear or judgement and see our failings. This is an essential function for any healthy society, it seems to me. What we don’t know can and will hurt us; being reminded in a humorous way is a good thing.
Comedy and tragedy are closely related. In Shakespeare’s day it was ‘King Lear’ followed by ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ on the playlist. Both were well attended and wildly applauded. Today, of course, we have ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘King of the Hill’, juxtaposed with the evening news.
Can we all lighten up a bit and enjoy this show? Our ignorance is not going away anytime soon by any means I’m aware of. Or maybe it is. Maybe if we lightened up and enjoyed the show we wouldn’t be so anxious and paranoid, we could laugh at ourselves. We wouldn’t have to be the greatest country in the world or the world’s greatest lover or the smartest person in the class or the best salesperson in the company. We could just be our incomplete but interesting selves, learning by doing, making our way, feeling the aspiration of our heart and trying to fulfill it, falling short but trying again.
I have often thought that despite all of our shortcomings as a species, how well we actually function, albeit mostly unwittingly, as a team. It first occured to me when embarking on a journey to a foreign place to which I had never been.. So many moving parts... so many individuals (millions?) involved in making the trip possible - from the folks who made the telephone and the computer I used to make my plans, to those who made all the components of my car and the road I drove to airport on, the airport shuttle drivers, the airplanes, the flight instructors who taught the pilots, the airports at both ends of the journey, the baggage handlers, the rubber on the conveyor belts, the headlights on the taxi cab, the farmers who grew the cotton for the bed sheets in the hotel - just to name a few - ...and just like that, there I was, comfortably at my destination. Such teamwork involved with each team member just doing his own little thing to enjoy his life, put food on his table and provide for his family. Quite miraculous really.