Cosmic Insignificance or Humility

or Narcissism

In the universe of 8 billion people alive at a given point in time, millions of years of existence, and zillions of species that lived, 100 years of one human life could feel insignificant.

Many sayings reduce our lives to mere sand dust, which is what Nihilism is.

Yet, even in such a broad spectrum, we can see how our lives evolved with each passing era. As Noah Harari points out, homo sapiens moved from the middle of the food chain to the top. It is not luck; every human life contributed to it, for better or for worse. Even though individual life might mean insignificant, how a combination of such lives could mean for a generation.

What would you prefer - a wealthy, successful life that feels meaningless' or 'a modestly meaningful life' - the answer might vary for each individual

Many -isms have evolved addressing the purpose of life: religions, communism, capitalism, etc. but none of them made humans that they are significant in this universe. In fact, all of them indicated the opposite. One -ism suggested that you live here for a few seconds, live it to the fullest, and the other suggested your life is shorter, why even bother?

This leads us to a fundamental question, as Oliver Burkeman suggests in his book "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals":

What would it mean to spend the only time you ever get in a way that truly feels as though you are making it count?

Julio Vincent Gambuto writes of "possibility shock"—the startling understanding that things could be different, on a grand scale, if only we collectively wanted that enough. This ties into the point highlighted above.

Now, with this idea of collective possibility. if everyone is sitting down and thinking, how can I do little more to that- it often pushes individuals not by inches but by miles. No one is thinking about how I can contribute 1% to society but instead how I can transform this world.

Maria Popova writes of 'combinatorial creativity"- the idea that everything of beauty and substance we contribute to the world is composed of myriad influences and inspirations acquired in the course of being alive and awake to ideas, unconsciously composited into something new. But, it is not an exponential curve; in fact, it is not even linear. It is a zig-zig where we rise to hope and fall to despair.

"Paradoxically, once you understand the truth of your insignificance, everything in life can become more meaningful."

We have off-handed terms such as 'Cosmic Humility' talking about our insignificance, and 'Cosmic Narcissism' that talks about our obsession with anthropocentrism.

Whatever the term is, humans have been so intelligent and centered themselves with things and activities that put the significance question at bay for most of the days and come over only as flashes.