1 in 10 to the 2,685,000th
10 followed by 2,685,000 zeros, this number is scientifically the likelihood of existence. That our parents met and that they hit it off enough to have a child and that one sperm met one egg and they hit it off enough to create us. And that every single one of our ancestors lived to a reproductive age going back to the first single-celled organism creating an unbroken lineage going back 4 billion years.
“It is the probability of 2 million people getting together about the population of San Diego each to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice, they each roll the dice and they all come up with the same number. 550,343,279,001.”
It’s a miracle to be alive.
This outlook makes me rethink a bit the ongoing mantra I’ve been living by that goes a little something like “nothing matters at all we’re all going to die anyways” because when you think about the lottery that is life the idea of purpose and meaning follow, and you realize that everything does matter.
With that being said everything in life can matter without an abundance of strings attached. Everything can matter without everything being perfect or how we indented it to go.
But we can take this opportunity of existence to learn what makes us happy, what environments we thrive in, what people we want to surround ourselves with, what funds our happiness, and ultimately what our purpose is.
Off of that, it is ok to be constantly figuring these things out, and when we accept the fact that learning these new things doesn’t have to feel like chasing something that is running faster than us, but instead feeling present and observing how our mind reacts to everything around us and that we will be meeting ourselves our whole life, that's the moment we will gain a sense of contentment.
To realize that being present is not always equivalent to being happy is also important. Sometimes we find ourselves living so painstakingly in the present completely aware of where our feet are yet deeply nostalgic of the past, or yearning for the future. Which may sound like not living in the present at all, but in moments we are reminded of memories, it's natural.
In this moment we can turn to the notion that we were given the chance to live on this little planet in the infinite universe for a microscopic amount of time and experience what it feels like to feel every emotion. Whether it is overwhelming joy, confusion, nostalgia, or heartbreak it’s an expression of our soul that proves life, and it is incredible.
