8 light-minutes

The Universe is elegantly simple and complex at the same time. That is why it is beautiful and transcends us. Spiritually, I see in the Universe the strongest source of reflection and auto-contemplation there is, almost a kind of rational faith, supported in science and in the numbers since science, itself, is many times a process of faith int the experimental results.

To think and contemplate the Universe makes me feel spiritually better. There are days that the mind conflicts are so hard to manage, questions and issues popup, realizations of inexorable facts that make me “boil” of frustration, but the comprehension of my own mediocrity (and that of the Earth itself) in the great scheme of things, make me accept such questions as facts that they are or simply as contingencies of the random existence of everyday, making me realize that I am part of this grandiosity, even in a ultramicroscopic scale in relation to the Universe. But I am here and I make a difference, for to the good or bad I’m part of the ecosystem and as such I do have some influence, even if it is only noted in my own circle of family and friends. This makes me feel better with myself and the universe, for I understand my purpose, my function in the great Cosmic puzzle. It’s not much, is insignificant, diminishing? Perhaps, to those who do not have the grasp to accept the Universe as It is: dominating, all powerful. The Universe is calling the shots, even not being a thinking and conscientious entity.

My spirituality comes from the depths of the Universe. Comes from the stars of multiple colors, form the supernovae, from those far, far away galaxies and of everything else that I do not understand scientifically. The machinery, the orchestration of the Universe itself, the almost perfect way how everything fits and organizes it’s the fountain of my spirituality and the reason for my contemplation.

Nothing happens for a reason. Nothing has it’s destiny foreseen. None of us has an already written history line, except for the two inescapable certain: we all have born and we will all die, so the cycle can go on.
Do you really want more beauty than this? More perfection? “Ash to ash, dust to dust” indeed. It was from the dust that left from the death of a star that all the material of are existence came of. And dust we will become after our own death. But our legacy remains. Our voices, teachings, thoughts, experiences will linger on until the end of the Universal existence; our descendents will always carry a bit of us. Even our radio and TV emissions, echo in the far reaches of the Universe for those who can listen to them…

This brings me to another point, another pointless epiphany. I found some time ago that I would have like be living, perhaps, some 2 centuries in the future. Or, even better, in a context of a extra-planetary civilization, in a galaxy teaming with life and relations between several species of several worlds. An even bigger challenge, but also even more enriching without any doubt, than living in a united Earth (which hard to get for enough). It would be fantastic! A chance to know more of the Universe. To understand and figure it out even better.

So, do not get me wrong. I love living the now. Living is great and many pople don’t realize that. Some times the work stress and the “shortness of time” make it hard, but there is always time for living…
The experience with other species could bring more knowledge, but simply would confirm our not specialty, our not exclusivity, and who knows, make the Human race realize that what we have is too beautiful to be cast away. Maybe if our leaders accepted that unshakable fact of our mediocrity, perhaps a truly global, the so much talked global village, could rise and prosper. May that way, the differences of our people would get diminished. Maybe…

But this is my “romantic” self talking. Once in a while I also let it come out, for we should not let it die imprisoned, asphyxiated. Our romantic self allows us to dream and the dream commands life and can carry us far…

(continuing in the next days)

It’s customary to make and say jokes about people of low culture or low educational levels. I’m totally of the opinion that such an attitude is distasteful, however as any ordinary person, I still laugh with such jokes when they are indeed funny.

So, what I bring you today is a “heads-up” worrying in at best.

First, let me tell you that I do not have nothing against the people and the country in question, for I believe that this kind of problem doesn’t show up only there.

Has arrive to my hands the video that you can watch here in this post. Street questions to american citizens about trivia and general culture.

How is it possible that in a country with the living conditions and life level of the United States, one of the most advanced countries in the World, world power, etc., have a population with so low levels of culture?

I leave you with a question to think about and for you to pay attention to the given answers: “How many sizes has a triangle?”

As the years gone by, with the flow of time and the inevitable Maturing that comes of it, I ended up finding (and accepting) the fact that I am not a religious person…At least not in the common and actual sense of the concept. In reality, my entire conception of what is (or should be) a religion, is all but what we can see and accept nowadays. But is a fact that that my realization, shallow epiphany if you will, made me understand that I am a spiritual person. And I mean spiritual in a quite real and palpable sense.

I’ve been raised in a Roman Catholic Apostolic “regime”. After all, it is the religion with the most followers and believers (by far) here in Portugal. I was baptized, gone to Sunday school, first communion, solemn communion. Was almost going to do the Confirmation, but it didn’t happen, maybe because I was already developing some of the conceptions and ideas that I have today.

My catholic education, taught me the religion’s ideals, such as mercifulness, dogmatic faith, helping and respecting others, the commandments and everything. At the time, besides finding Sunday school boring (even though it was by going there that I learned that I liked volleyball and that I was actually rather good at it), the concepts looked quite good, but as a kid that I was, couldn’t do much with them anyway. The grownups, those area an entirely other story! They went to the mess, too the communion and I, naively, thought that they would obey by all the commandments and added some more…Boy was I wrong!

Nowadays, the “true” faith is scarcely seen or even noted, except in some anonymous people. And this seems to me quite valid to any religion here in our small and fragile blue marble… Moreover, I think even in my Sunday school times, it was like that even then…I just simply too young to realize it. The religious values ar not taken into account and the catholic religion is ostensive and polytic. Besides, still shuts its eyes to the Real World, staying retrograde in several social, and other, subjects, despite some clear idseologic changes during the papacy of Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II).

But retuning to me, I was saying to be a spiritual person. True, but not too much or, in other words, do not manage my day-to-day based in spiritual questions or issues. Spiritual enough to my conceptions and ideologies of the Universe, I’m still a guy of science and technology. Those who know me, know that I have a tendency to be pragmatic and realistic enough. I believe in what I can see, measure, touch and fell…However, it’s when we come to the feeling part that my spirituality’s horizons are spread open…

That’s because I consider myself agnostic. I do not have in my mind the capacity to be atheist. I clearly feel that there is something that transcends our existence and of all living and not living beings. I do not believe, though, in any personified entity all-powerful and all-knowing. I do feel that what we call God, Jehovah, Shiva, Vishnu, Ala, Thor, Eru the One, or some other name is, in fact, the same. The rest are only name sand interpretations of the same things, the same feelings e by-products of different traditions with roots very common. At least is what I think. It’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

As such, my spirituality is directed and focused on the Universe itself. The Universe that is quantifiable, measurable and palpable. The universe transcends us by the simple fact that we exist in it. The simple fact that me being here writing these lines, is a possibility given by the Universe, for it was from it’s engineering that I came to being and as myself, all of us here on Earth and, who knows, other planets out there, somewhere…

The Universe really knows what it is doing, even in the randomness of the events and, however it is predictable. We can understand an predict many of the things done by the and in the Universe, but as soon as we notice that, we have an unexpected surprise and the Universe, or a part of it, stops making sense and forces us to make new questions and to new investigations, almost as if it wants to hide it’s secrets from who searches them, not by envy or whims, but to stimulate and keep us curious. It almost seems that I’m talking about a person, but that’s’ not the case.

We, humans, need to manage to explain everything. We are curious, inquisitive. With that, we have psychological problems dealing with curiosity – we have the necessity of knowing the cause, the origin, that what it’s called the “first cause”. However the Universe has taught me that is a practically vain search, even though Physics, that allows us to know the Universe, tells us that for every action there must be a reaction and voce-versa, for something happen, something has got to start it. But, in the case of our own existence, the Big Bang is not enough, because it take the “exclusivity”, the “speciality” from us e shows us that we have too little of being special…

That is why that, for those who are paying attention, the Universe remainds us constantly of our place in the big scheme of things. It shows us in the clearest, most realistic, most raw way our insignificance, mere sand grains of stardust passing by, a cosmic fart in the ages of the universal existence. It reminds us that we are neither eternal nor special, and that it was already here when we came to being and that it will linger on long after the Earth has been swollen by the Sun in some 5 thousand million years from now. And, the cherry in top of the cake of the insignificance is that not even the Universe is eternal. This one, as we know it will have an end. Maybe even a new beginning, with a new face. It’s certain that it’s it which set the rules and it is with those that we play.

The beauty of it all is right that. The rules of the game are written in the stars, in the planets, in the people, in the animals. In order we can play, we have to discover them all. But, every time we have all the answers (or we think we do) the Universe changes the questions and some more new ones. With every answer, always come more questions.

(Continues in the next days)