“The Brevity of Human Life in the Vastness of Cosmic Time.”
A friend of mine sent me this in a WhatsApp chat (in dark blue)
*In the End, We Are All Stardust*
Every generation asks the same questions: Where did we come from? How did life begin? What is our place in the vast Universe?
Today, science gives us answers that are not only rational but unexpectedly beautiful.
The Universe began in a moment of unimaginable energy, the *Big Bang,* nearly 14 billion years ago. From that first expansion, came galaxies, stars, and eventually building blocks of everything we see.
When a star died in a brilliant explosion, it scattered the elements that one day would form our Sun, our Earth, and every living being. It is a humbling thought: the iron flowing through our blood was forged in the heart of a long-vanished star.
Approximately, 4.6 billion years ago, Earth emerged from a swirling cloud of cosmic dust, cooling into oceans that would nurture the earliest forms of life. From the silent chemistry of those ancient waters, life gained a foothold; and through the slow, steady power of evolution, the planet blossomed into the astonishing diversity we witness today. This narrative is not just science; it is a reminder of our profound connection to the Universe, and to one another. In an age where division seems easier than understanding the knowledge that we all share the same cosmic origin, should bring us closer, not drive us apart.
When we say we are children of stardust, it is not a metaphor; it is a scientific truth, and a philosophical awakening. It tells us that *no race, religion, caste, or background makes one human superior to another.* We all began in the same cosmic fire, and we all depend on the same fragile planet to survive. Recognizing this shared heritage is more important than ever.
As we face climate change, conflict, and rising social fragmentation, we must remember that Earth is the only home stardust has ever known to become conscious. Protecting it is not an option, it is an obligation.
Our common story of born in light, shaped by Earth, and carried forward by humanity should be a source of unity. It reminds us that we are part of something far greater, yet equally responsible for the small world we inhabit. In the end, we come from the stars, and if we choose wisely, our future can shine just as brightly.
As we measure the age of the Universe, we are measuring the limits of our own understanding, for the cosmos is older or younger than we think, the true mystery lies not in its years, but in the endless wonder it awakens in us.
*Raju*
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Here is my answer to Raju
Thank you for this article. I have alright mentioned we are made from stardust. I wrote that on Saturday, December 28, 2024.
Read the details in this paragraph
"The Stardust Connection and the Formation of Life" in this link here written by me.
https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/search?q=Stardust+&m=1
We are actually made of star dusts from another world through a supernova explosion of a star, its dusts that landed up as the soil of this earth from which God made us.
Whether or not we originated through a supernova explosion of a distant star, our brevity of existence here in this world is humbling.
Biblical Verses on the Brevity of Life
The Bible often emphasizes life's transience to encourage spiritual wisdom and reliance on God. Key verses include:
James 4:14: "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes".
Psalm 144:4: "Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow".
Psalm 90:10: "The years of our life are seventy... they are soon gone, and we fly away".
Psalm 90:12: "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom".
Other verses using imagery like grass, flowers, or a weaver's shuttle also highlight the brevity of life.
Shakespearean Quotes on the Brevity of Life
Shakespeare’s characters often reflect on the short, "dream-like" quality of life, particularly in his tragedies and later plays. Notable quotes include:
Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5): "Out, out, brief candle! / Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more".
The Tempest (Act 4, Scene 1): "We are such stuff / As dreams are made on; and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep".
Henry IV Part 1 (Act 5, Scene 2): "O gentlemen, the time of life is short! / To spend that shortness basely were too long".
Several other plays contain lines emphasizing life's shortness or comparing it to a stage performance.
Other Notable Literary Quotes
Seneca observed that life is not inherently short but is made so by our choices and wastefulness.
John Green suggested that lives are made up of a finite set of moments.
Marcus Aurelius emphasized the importance of focusing on one's inner state rather than external events, often interpreted in the context of life's brevity
Let me illustrate this in another way:
If 1,000 years, 10,000 years, 1 million, 1 billion, and 1 trillion years were each represented as one day, then how many seconds would 100 years of our life last in each of these scales?
Here’s the answer through a calculation. We simply treat:
100 years (scaled seconds) = (100 ÷ X) × 86400 seconds
where X is the number of real years represented by one day.
Results are:
If a100 years is scaled down to one day, then 100 years of our lives last only for 8,640 seconds
1,000 years is 2 hours 24 minutes | ||
10,000 years is 864 seconds (14 minutes 24 seconds) |
| |
1,000,000 years is 8.64 seconds
|
| |
1,000,000,000 years (1 billion) is 0.00864 seconds (8.64 milliseconds) |
| |
1,000,000,000,000 years (1 trillion) is 0.00000 864 seconds (8.64 milliseconds) |
This beautifully shows how tiny 100 years becomes when we place it against vast cosmic timescales
On a 1-billion-year-per-day scale, all of human history is a fraction of a blink.
On a trillion-year-per-day scale, an entire human lifetime is just 8.64 microseconds, far shorter than the time it takes to snap our fingers.
That realization how incredibly short our earthly life is when contrasted with cosmic time is both humbling, heartfelt and profound to me.
1. A human life to me is a breath in cosmic time. Even if a person lives a full 100 years, on the scale of Earth’s age (4.54 billion years), the universe’s age (13.8 billion years), or the trillion-year future predicted for the cosmos our entire lifetime becomes a flicker of light, a moment so brief it can hardly be measured.
2. Yet that short life can change the world. Paradoxically, even though our lifespan is tiny, a single human being can transform millions of lives, a single discovery can shape centuries, and a single act of compassion, love and charity can echo far beyond our death. This, to me is the mystery and beauty of human existence. Our time is short, but our influence can be eternal.
3. Spiritual perspective (with the tone of spiritual thinking I like)
When I see a 100 years
of life becomes 8.64 milliseconds on a cosmic scale, it reminds me of verses like:
“For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by.”
(Psalm 90:4)
Let me illustrate the brevity of life in another way.
Image a calendar with leaves of each day on it. Consider how the leaves of days become less and less on the calendar as each leaf is torn away from it with each passing day. This is the same as the leaves of our lives being shortened with each passing day till nothing is left on the calendar of our lives.
As I write this we have now less than 5 hours left towards another New Year - 2026. This evening is the last leaf in this present calendar, soon being torn away, similar to the life of everybody in this world into a new calendar of their lives after midnight.
Human life is brief, but in that briefness, something precious is given to us:
Purpose, love, curiosity, the ability to create, discover, heal, and think, and to share our thoughts with others - things no other creature on Earth can do. Would you share your thoughts with me?
In 1 Corinthians 13:13 it tells us:
" And now these three remain:
faith, hope and love. But the greatest of
these is love (charity)"
4. Why does this thought moves me?
It is because it awakens me into two deep truths:
1. Humility:
We are tiny compared to the universe.
2. Sacredness:
Despite our smallness, our lives matter immensely.
This thought touches countless patients, students, and friends, the impact remains long after the seconds of our life have passed.
It is a beautiful thought for me at least that I may share with anyone, whether he or she are highly learned and intellectual research scientists, university professors, teachers, or are medical specialists, ordinary medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, theologians, students, or just simple lay, but gentle readers here in my blog, provided they understand what I write, accept truths, be appreciative and be thankful.
For further reading please click to this link on:
"Seventy: The Narrow Bridge Between Time and Eternity"
https://scientificlogic.
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