Before I dive further into providing you with my thoughts and opinions on topics in the future, let me attempt to provide an example of how my mind thinks about things around us:

Let us imagine that you are walking on a nature trail. Wherever this trail may be, you go along, taking in the sights and sounds of what is around you. Hopefully you have found one that takes you far away from a near nearby road so that you may feel lost in nature, but I digress, as it does not really matter; at the very least you are trying to enjoy nature. Anyway, during this excursion you happen to find a nice big rock, either placed there by someone else, or one that was there long before anyone you know existed on this gravity well we call Earth. This rock amazes you and your friends—because of course you are not alone, as nature is more fun that way—and you have a picture by it before deciding to head to your car. Thus, this rock, with its interesting random patterns of colors, is now immortalized in a photo of you to share with everyone you know.

Now, let us consider this rock. Not necessarily in a geological sense, as in considering its chemical composition or what type of rock it may be. Rather, let us try to look at it in an ontological sense; that is, let us discuss the rock in terms of its state of existence in our physical world, and in relation to other rocks. Of course, having no detailed knowledge of philosophical metaphysics, there may be a better term for this discussion, but we are going to go with ontology for now.

Within this rock there may be one or many types of atomic structures, arrangements of atoms that have formed a patterned configuration throughout this rock. Depending on the type of rock, it may also contain other trace elements or molecules that fit between the crystal structures, which provides the unique colors you may witness while looking at it. Now, consider the well-established scientific idea that we have had conservation of matter and mass from the beginning of our universe. Every atom that is in existence today has either always existed, was produced through the fusion of lighter elements near the beginning of time (conserving the mass of those elements in the process), or formed through the decay of heavier elements that as far as we know are solely radioactive. Applying this to the rock, it becomes apparent that as you look at this rock, all the atoms that you see on it and within it, at that very moment, have been together with each other for as long as that rock has existed, thousands or even millions of years!

Unfortunately, the way you see the rock at that moment will be the only time you see it that way in your lifetime. Sure, you may come back the next day and it will look exactly the same, but there will be differences to it so trivial that you will not notice them. While the process has been slow, the rock deals with erosion, shearing and cleaving forces each and every day, becoming slightly smaller over time. Thousands of years ago, that same rock could have been many times larger than it is now. Millions of years ago, that rock may have just reached the surface through erosion or volcanic activity, beginning its journey to become as you see it today. Thousands of years from now, it may finally be reduced to only a small rock that can be picked up, kicked, or moved easily somewhere else; at the same time, the rock itself may end up destroyed by some event and turned into something completely different.

Now, this rock, in this reality, is no different from our own existence in the universe, but on a different time scale, if we want to make the comparison. As anyone may know, rocks come in all shapes, forms, densities, and sizes throughout the world. From the smallest grains of sand to the largest boulders, each one has a unique property about that we may or may not find useful in application. Can this idea not also be seen in humanity? From around the world, we find people with different colored skin, traditions, cultures, and physical features, and yet each brings something unique to the table when we work together. Thus, collaborating and connecting with one another, amazing things begin to happen that help us to improve the world in which we live in.

Furthermore, while we have a mysterious consciousness or soul that a rock, for all we understand, lacks, this consciousness is primarily encased within a vessel that is built up of a collection of atoms that have their own unique complexity, similar to the rock. For us, the atoms within us existed before we were born, but now have come together to form the molecules that now work together to give us life. From the time we are formed in our mothers and born into the world, through food, drinks, beauty products, and anything else that we use in our lives, we are continually adding on new atoms to ourselves, “building” ourselves up and our functionality. At the same time, then, we are always losing atoms at the same time; for the most general examples, when we get our haircut, or every time we touch another object and leave behind oils and skin cells. Then, when our vessel can no longer prolong itself for the sake of our consciousness, our bodies are then returned to the earth, where the atoms are then dispersed back into new objects, new life.

As far as we know, and no matter what your religious views are, we only have this one body at this point in time for those around us to enjoy life together with, one that they will miss if your body fails prematurely. In many instances, we cannot fully control the degradation of our vessel; maybe you got the unfortunate set of molecules that just does not allow you to be around as long, or the strain of age just wears on your biological systems. However, there are usually many things that we could do to avoid demise, and we ignore them. Sure, maybe it is likely that your soul could transfer to another vessel upon the death of your body, but those you know are then forced to be without you, left only with the memory of that picture that you took together near that rock. The rock that is probably still sitting there on that nature trail, continuing its own journey of existence that is many times longer than our lives could ever be.

So, I guess one thing to take away from this is just how important it is for us to take care of our bodies, the vessels of our consciousness. I know that I am not the best at it myself, and no one can be a true expert on living a long time, but we certainly can do what we can for the sake of those that care and depend on us. Have fun in the meantime, though, because life is about enjoying it as well!

With that, we have gone from talking about a rock to a discussion about our place in the universe. Almost makes one wonder what I will talk about next. Let us find out together, shall we?