May 26th

Insignificance

Spasms of molten rock
Piled a cone three miles high.
Rain and wind split a hundred towering fingers.
In time, trees strove for leverage in the fissures.
After a million years, condors and snakes took up residence.
Mighty rock, carved walls adorned with
Chartreuse and vermilion lichen --
Man yet more puny on those stones.
How long will it take to see Tao?
Until you no longer hold self-importance.

Compared to the massive movements of heaven and earth, compared to the immensity of geologic time, the greatest acts of humanity and their monuments are beneath significance. We climb the highest mountains, we dive to the depths of the sea, we fling ourselves as close to the sun as we dare, and we are not even on the scale of nature's measure. In our egotism and our view of ourselves as the center of the universe, we imagine that our lives have some meaning and importance when placed beside the stars and mountains and rivers. They do not. We cannot hope to have any true meaning in the history of the universe. But we can know it better, we can be a better part of it.If you want to know the force that keeps the sky blue, the stars burning, the mountains high and still, the rivers running, and the oceans flowing, then remove the veil that stands between you and Tao.

Personal Interpretation

Human endeavor is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. This does not mean that we should cease to endeavor. It means only that we should understand our lives and their meaning in the context of Tao. We are a part of something larger than ourselves. We were born from it and, in the end, we will be reclaimed by it. So what then is the purpose of our lives? To seek happiness and unity. To learn what we can. To attempt to understand. To treat those we encounter with kindness. In so doing, each of our lives contributes to the light. We may be insignificant, but so is every atom that makes up the universe. And yet, were those tiny elements not united, none of what is could be. Our value is not in our individual lives, but in what we can contribute to the whole.