Nothing lasts forever and everything fades away. The sun and the wind and the rain will eat away everything on this world, molecule by molecule, until it merges with the sky and the ground. Over the subsequent millions of years the bits and pieces will combine, separate, and recombine with all matter on the planet until one day, billions of years hence, our sun will swell until it swallows the Earth and all we ever were. When its final grains of sand melt and become one with the churning mass of bloated hydrogen, the remaining bits will be hurled in a fiery explosion deep into the galaxy where it will start all over again. The very same bits of me will get pulled slowly, inexorably toward an adjacent grain of dust by the inevitable attraction of gravity. They’ll dance their dance until they merge in a collision that is both underwhelming and vital to the creation of the next world.

This notion of renewal brings with it an exquisite beauty that satisfies some part of us that thrills at witnessing the unknown and learning something fundamental for the first time. Over time all matter combines, separates, and recombines in patterns unique yet hauntingly familiar. It has its own subtle charm when you think about the cold brutality of space. The fact the circle of life repeats itself on a cosmological scale is encouraging.

Every bit of matter in the universe is used over and over again, leaving nothing to waste. The universe long ago adopted a greener attitude toward life, collecting expelled clumps of matter from some long extinguished flame into the components needed for a new star. All the planets rotating around these stars are comprised of dust shorn from the cliffs of ancient and extinguished mountains on even more distant, alien worlds. The shiver I get from realizing this fact is akin to spiritual wonder; it triggers the same part of my brain that gets blown away by the vastness of space and time. It’s so mind boggling huge that whenever I grasp even a small piece of it I get shivers. For the religious it’s the appreciation and the wonder at God’s work. For the spiritual its amazement at the beauty of seemingly random events, but the universe does have a plan. It’s something to be studied, admired, and those who embrace an infinite and remarkable universe derive meaning from divining the secrets of the universe.

I believe in humanity and the promise of enlightenment. I also believe in the human capacity for stupidity and mindless destruction. Out of fear and greed we perpetrate the most heinous crimes against each other leaving many of us slack jawed, unable to comment. It’s a wonder we’re still here considering our tendency to execute and cleanse our enemies repeatedly over time, often times more out of fear than fact. We do much of this out of greed and religion and an awful lot of it out of ideology. I’m not just talking theological but political and social. Over time we’ve managed to justify our behavior with science and religion and money. No one is immune to manipulation.

We should all, regardless of our spiritual nature, agree to give each other some space. Giving each other the time and space to discover a truth that works for them must be the goal with our neighbors. Seeking truth is what humans do best; we’re wired to understand how things work. We want to know because knowing can save us. That’s why seeking universal truths can give perspective and bring meaning to a life. It’s also this quest for truth that leads some to believe the impossible, or the false. Some even rationalize more atrocities in the name of these truths. That’s the real shame; killing in the name of religion is always the worst. Religion is supposed to bring peace and enlightenment to a weary and frantic race.

There’s nothing so short as a human lifespace. It doesn’t afford us enough time to learn the lessons we need to learn. We’re born, we spend years learning basic skills to survive until nearly a third of our life is over. Only then are we capable of truly swimming in this vast ocean only to find wisdom in the last half. If we’re lucky we spend a couple of decades comfortable in our skin before we discover swimming isn’t as easy anymore. Over time we find ourselves a spectator in life as the young take their place. We spend more time remembering and less time planning. The ocean looks nice from the porch and the breeze keeps us cool in the heat. The kids are all right and you know, now is a good time for a nap.

All this takes place in such a short time compared to the universe. The cosmos churns at a rate our minds can’t comprehend. Everywhere you look are stars and galaxies and clusters filled with worlds untold. They’ve all been at it too, just like us, a part of some universal entity living a life we can only imagine. But snap your fingers and our moment is gone. This solar system will be around another 3-4 billion years before our sun reaches the same stage and still that’s nothing to how much longer the universe has to live. Humans could be a part of that larger universe if we make it that far.

There’s so much we’re capable of doing as a people yet what we choose to do is waste those precious years given to us. We waste them on horrific acts of violence or heart-crushing displays of compassion. We’re capable of so many things but insist on spending our years making life miserable for others. There are other ways.

Let’s give each person we meet the chance to grow up, experience joy, grow old and leave behind something compelling in the human story. If we all do that we might have a chance.