From a Cosmic Point of View

On my wall hangs a photocopy I made of an image from a newspaper: it is a picture of the Earth, taken from space. I put it up to wonder at the beauty of our planet. But above all, I put it up to remind myself to always see life in a much larger perspective. I put it up to not forget that I am part of something much greater, that the meaning of my life is therefore much greater, and that I am therefore responsible towards something much greater. I put it up in order not to get lost in the small thoughts of so much everyday life.

Our lives are exceedingly improbable. Only the tiniest fraction of matter is organised as life, and only the tiniest fraction of life is human. Our existence is a piece of extraordinarily good luck. Even the fundamental constants of physics have had to be extremely finely tuned to make us possible. Winning the lottery is, by comparison, commonplace.

It is not arrogance to say that, by some measures, we are the most highly-developed species on our planet. Apart from bonobos and chimpanzees, only we humans are capable of recognising ourselves in a mirror. And only we humans are evolved enough to know that we are conscious. Not only can we marvel at the universe: we can marvel at the miracle of being aware of it.

Except that too often we don’t. We forget. We forget because we are mostly absorbed in the concerns and conflicts of everyday life. We are too content with its pleasures and too weighed down with its cares. Life is usually enough of a struggle as it is to find much time to lift our sights higher. What spare time we have we tend to spend on distractions. Not that there aren’t moments of love and beauty, of transcendence even. Yet by and large we do not live up to what we Are.

Why does any of this matter? Our intelligence has made us the most successful species on the planet. Science and technology, the fruit of this intelligence, have now raised a great many beyond the precarious struggle for survival. They have liberated us from dire material need and freed us for the pursuit of higher goals. Much, though not all of this, is a most welcome development. Modern medicine has cured or alleviated many ills. But it has also meant that our number is no longer counted in the thousands but instead in the billions.

Look around you: When you see the trees, flowers, gardens and meadows; when you hear the birds sing or see insects flitting through the air, you may get the impression that there is an endless abundance of nature. But dig into the ground and barely one metre down, the only life you will still find is a few bacteria. Set this measure in relation to the circumference of the Earth, which is about 40,000 kilometres. The biosphere is an extremely thin skin covering the surface of our planet. It is as vulnerable as it is precious. Nature is robust. But once it is sufficiently damaged, it may never come back.

With billions of us on the planet, mass production and mass consumption have put immense pressure on the biosphere. Pollution, degradation of habitats, resource depletion, global warming and species extinction are their negative consequences. Indeed, the situation may already be so critical that it may be close to a tipping point: a positive feedback loop is then set in motion whereby the warming of the atmosphere hastens the destruction of nature, which in turn accelerates global warming, and so on. Our success means that we are now in danger of destroying much of the biosphere, and ourselves with it. Provided we do not do so first with nuclear weapons.

Naturally, we do not want this to happen. The question, however, is whether we have the strength to do so. Will we be able to make whatever changes may need to be made, fast enough? Systems, economic and social, tend towards equilibrium. If now they are becoming destructive of the conditions which support them, they will need to reach another state, or else they will die. But it takes a great deal of energy to push a system out of its present equilibrium. This can only happen if a sufficiently large number of us are willing to do so.

Many of us can see the problems. Yet all too often, our responses arise from no better a spirit than the one which gave rise to the problems in the first place. Certainly, no good will come from egoism, animosity or anger. If we are to make a difference for the better, we will need to act from a higher spirit. But we cannot always wait for others or for circumstances to change first. We need to begin with ourselves: with each and every one of us. We need to elevate our spirit so that it has enough strength, not only to change ourselves, but also to have a positive effect on the world around us. At its heart, it is a question of intent. To be sure, good intent is not enough in itself. Yet nothing good will come about without it. It must be the beginning of everything.

So how do you begin? You might start with viewing your life in the broadest possible context. Reflect on the extreme improbability of human life. Realise that to be born a human being, no matter how your life is going, is a piece of surpassingly good luck. Be grateful for this exceptional opportunity, even if it does not feel like it. Think about our planet in the vastness of space and its thin layer of biosphere, which evolved over hundreds of millions of years. Think about the struggles and achievements of humanity over the ages. Understand that your individual life is part of the great adventure of LIFE ITSELF. If you engage in such thoughts with some regularity, you will find that just doing so is energising and uplifting, since it raises your vision above the vicissitudes of everyday life.

The physical universe in itself is, however, quite meaningless. What makes it meaningful is that there is awareness of it. And indeed, it is your awareness of its immensity and complexity, the awe that you feel in its contemplation, which gives it meaning. It is through you that the universe comes to know itself. So, even though you are a tiny and rather insignificant part of the universe, you play an infinitely important role: for the meaning of your life lies, first and foremost, in your conscious appreciation of Reality. The more deeply you recognise Reality, the greater will be the value that you perceive it to have.

From this understanding arises an obligation. You do not live primarily for your earthly existence, but for conscious Reality itself, in which you partake. What matters therefore is not what you get from life, but the contribution you make to Reality. You may say that it is hard not to be bogged down in the endless struggles of existence. How, then, can you give your best? The truth is that your life is your contribution to Reality. Rather than mistaking it for your personal property, understand it as a manifestation of Reality itself. Rather than struggling with your body, thoughts and emotions for yourself, desire that they may reach their Divine perfection for their own sake. Desire that all things may reach their Divine perfection.

We expend an undue amount of energy in worrying about our existence. In truth, our existence is upheld not by us but by Reality itself, for however long it will do so. To desire that all things reach their Divine perfection means to let your energy flow freely, instead of holding it anxiously close to your existence. When you let your energy flow out in this way, when it is no longer congealed as the fear for your existence, to that extent you will experience a joyous freedom which transcends mere existence and appears to be intrinsic to Reality itself.

What does Divine perfection look like? You need not particularly know. What matters is that you strive for the purest possible intent: that you think and act from the highest possible motive. To be of pure intent is to desire nothing less than the Divine perfection of all things. It is from intentions that everything else follows, whether for better or for worse. Intentions work their way outwards, with their consequences shaping the world. So start with purifying your intentions. Purity of intent may not be everything, but – to say it again – nothing good will come about without it.

It is said that the road to Hell is plastered with good intentions. And indeed, many have taken themselves to mean well – yet they only succeeded in bringing about disaster. In truth, they have not meant well enough. Saying that one only wanted to do good, even sincerely believing it, is not sufficient. All too often we delude ourselves into thinking that we are well-intentioned when, on closer examination, we have deceived ourselves. So do not fall into the trap of self-serving righteousness. Purity of intent entails, first and foremost, being truthful with yourself: to uncover the many impure motives which lurk in the inner dark.

When you begin to resolve some of the impurities in you, you will find that more of your energy becomes available for higher and more constructive purposes. The purer your intent, the freer you are from the emotional struggles stemming from a lower, and therefore more conflicted, spirit. Inward purification and outward expression go hand in hand. The small-minded increasingly falls away, and the pursuit of more elevated goals becomes easier and indeed natural. You will be gaining in strength.

So it all begins with the will. Through intending the highest, through directing our desire towards the perfection of all things, we grow into thinking and acting from a greater perspective. We become ready for meeting the challenges of our lives and our times, one little step after another.

To be born a human being, as the Buddha once remarked, is a case of exceedingly good luck. To be part of conscious Reality is an infinitely precious gift. We are prone to wasting too much of this priceless opportunity. But when we live for and desire nothing lesser than Reality itself, we seem to put ourselves in alignment with it. We then seem to enter the great stream of LIFE itself, and our individual lives then feel inherently right and meaningful. In doing so, we are playing our own small, yet at the same time possibly infinitely important part, in the evolution of Reality and consciousness itself.