A Philosophical Universe

     I believe that our existence, the nature that surrounds us, and the Universe as a whole is all intertwined in a beautiful knot tied by consciousness and physical reality. How could it not be? We can't find all of the answers on Earth, because Earth isn't even the tiniest fraction of what is out there or of what we can comprehend. Looking at features in nature, we notice patterns and what seems to be design. So, of course, we came to the conclusion that someone created us. However, as we have discovered more and more about ourselves and what's beyond our blue sky, we've realized that the "creator" is within us. We were born to think critically, cosmically, and creatively. Nature is full of patterns - on Earth and within the cosmos. But, instead of an almighty being in the sky, these patterns were formed through what we discovered to be beautiful natural processes. 

     Evolution. One of the essential driving forces of the Universe. From tiny microbes coming to Earth on an asteroid, to intelligent apes building and creating alluring bridges over waterways. Life finds a way and strives to become wise. However, life isn't the only aspect of the Universe that evolves. Instead of adapting to its surroundings over time and becoming more intelligent, stars evolve in a different, but even more stunning way. 

     Gorgeous nebulae fill our night sky with wonder and creation. In these breathtaking star nurseries, we can clearly see another major driving force of the Universe underway. The creation of stars. These stars serve many purposes, like providing light and energy; however, they give intelligent life what it really needs to thrive: Curiosity, something to wonder about, to write and sing about, to dream about, and to explore. In the perfect world, observatories would be on top of every mountain, where the pollution of light couldn't drown out our view of the cosmos. Government funding would go towards the exploration of space and educating the public about our natural home instead of blowing up civilizations overseas. Scientists, especially astronomers, artists, engineers, mathematicians, musicians, and philosophers would lead us to a newly reinforced relationship with the cosmos. A relationship kindled by the fire of a billion stars.

     With the future on our minds, wisdom in our souls, and the stars in our sights, we can discover who we are, why we're here, what our purpose is, and how we came to be. Like the flourishing marine ecosystems of our beautiful oceans, the entire Universe develops and lives as one. As stated before, we can begin to understand our cosmic abode by looking at our own home planet. Earth is full of amazing life. To me, one of the most beautiful connections on Earth is the bond between a mother animal and her child. When I see a baby ape crawl up into its mother's arms, I envision a star cuddled up inside of its warm mother nebula. Metaphors, analogies and literature in general is very important, because it's how we begin to understand our place in the Universe. For example, knowledgeable literature is printed on paper made from trees. Using the fact that space and time is blooming with intelligence and consciousness, maybe trees are knowledge. The perfect medium for a book made for a human. Once again, that isn't likely or "logical," but creative and purposeful. Another example, using imaginative philosophy, could be that the Universe is expanding because it is full of life that is constantly evolving and creating, expanding the consciousness of the cosmos. Not because it just exploded into existence. Now, we know this probably isn't true, because then how did that begin? Life is full of questions, many of which will never be answered. But that is our purpose. We were born to be curious, evolved to think critically, and now we create to pursue the stars.

“What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic."
- Carl Sagan