There have been many nights where I stared into the darkness of my room, trying fruitlessly to fall asleep. Unfortunately, there's nothing entertaining keeping me awake – just my mind and my thoughts on an endless loop. I don't get the entertainment of watching what had previously been a pile of laundry on a chair turn into a monster when the lights go out. Instead, I end up in this zone, where I'm not asleep but not necessarily conscious of my surroundings either. With that being said, I went into this zone just the other night, and my eyes fell on a tiny seashell that my niece had given me years ago, and for some reason, I had kept.
I imagined the seashell in the ocean – drifting through the waves as the waters tossed it around effortlessly. The shell is so tiny, and the ocean is so vast. That was when I came upon a realization. This itty bitty shell, drifting through the massive depths of the ocean, is a lot like Earth, drifting through the endless expanse that is space.
If, in comparison to the ocean, that shell was so tiny, then how little would a continent be? How about a country, a state, a city, or just one person? Our nations are but a fleck of discoloration on that shell – a fleck that is barely visible to the naked eye. As for us, we're significantly smaller than a single grain of sand beside that shell.
Our planet is so tiny and miniscule compared to the size of the universe, which as far as we know, never ends. The universe is massive, beyond comprehension. The seashell and ocean analogy is likely laughable in comparison to an actual drawn-to-scale picture. The truth is that we have no idea how big the universe is or whether or not life outside of Earth exists. There is an endless list of things we don't know about space or even our own planet, for that matter. Despite mankind being a tiny dot inside a fleck of discoloration, on a shell, beside the ocean, we tend to think we are unstoppable, all-knowing, limitless in our capabilities and in control. Unfortunately, this is not true. These are traits of God, and they are nothing that anyone on this planet could ever hope to achieve.
Do not let my analogy bring you down. Don't let it make you feel insignificant, because even the tiniest of things have importance. Let's take ants, for example, and not focus on how tiny we are. Ants are much smaller than us, but their impact is humongous. Ants aerate the soil, which in turn allows water and air to make it to the plants' roots, allowing them to thrive. Remember, we need oxygen to breathe, and our primary source of oxygen is plants. Secondly, ants also feast on the larvae of household pests, such as fleas, bedbugs, flies and roaches.
So, what can we conclude from this? Well, because of ants, plants are able to thrive and provide you with food and oxygen. They also work as your personal exterminator, to an extent. Perhaps if there weren't ants, you'd be running for a shoe or fly swatter a lot more frequently than you do. I imagine you're wondering how this has anything to do with how tiny one person is in comparison to the universe. Bear with me for a second. If an ant, which is so much smaller than us, has such an enormous impact on the world, then what kind of impact could we make? Whenever you feel small and insignificant, remember how much smaller ants are, and they're still able to impact us so much. If you find yourself getting down and feeling like you're just one person in a world full of billions, get up and make your impact. Be an ant. Even though you're small, you are not insignificant. You can make a positive impact on the world around you. Focus on what's in front of you, and tackle things one at a time.