Why is it that many of our daily problems seem so large and painful?

You stub your toe against the bed frame and, in between all the screaming and cursing, it occurs to you that you may have been cursed by all the gods that have ever existed.

It’s a silly example. I know.

This week a had a rough week. Relatively speaking, many people would laugh if they found out what made it rough. Yet, it doesn’t take away the fact that it felt difficult for me. In the moment, I knew I’ve had “better weeks.”

There are videos on social media showing how small we are within the vast universe - atomically small, a cosmologist would say. Side comment… a cosmologist is not the one that does your nails or a writer for the magazine Cosmopolitan.

The videos and the cosmologist are right. To be fair, remembering our scale in the universe does help put my problems into perspective, though only momentarily. Then, I spiral all over again.

That is part of being human.

This is what came to mind when I saw the pair of photos of a large, coastal city from the view of the airplane window seat (R.I.P. Spirit) and the Moon.

One looking down. One looking up. The result is the same. Both are examples of the scale of things around here.

I hope your next week (from the day your read or re-read this) is better than the last.

JG

A rough week put into perspective

It’s been a while