Forever is composed of Nows - Emily Dickinson
What is the importance of a grain of sand.?
Imagine you have been to the beach. Although it is far away, I have been to the beach many occasions in the past. You can see the waves, bubbles, constant humming noise of the sea, wind and the sand. Truckloads of pure sand dumped and washed by the sea with each wave. You can take a walk on these sandy beaches from one corner to the other, until you meet some rock formation. Imagine you bent down and picked up a handful of sand. Compared to the beach, it is less, but still, something you can look at with your naked eyes, and use to build something on the beach. But now take one grain of sand out of that thousand on your hand. If you drop the handful of sand still there would be plenty left on your hand. Most of them are barely visible. And even barely palpable with your fingers. So, they have lost the significance. As we can comprehend things in life only when they are macroscopic. When it is microscopic We have to find a way to magnify them. So, let's agree to the fact that a grain of sand has no significance in life.
Grain of sand in a building.
Let's imagine our grain of sand in a building. If you just remove a grain of sand from the structure of a building, nothing will happen immediately. The building will remain strong. But if you remove a grain of sand every day, still the building would last for few generations. however, will weaken over a millennium. And this is what actually is happening. A real building is losing its grains of sand every day. With a tiny bit of force from its edge, with corrosion, wind and rain, heated by sunlight, crushed by the weight of itself. Tiny atomic bonds loosen and grains of sand just change its composure to become free of bonds. Ultimately the building would weaken and collapse one day. So, Grain of sand is not important, and also, it is utmost important when taken collectively. Now consider this metaphor to the above quote by Emily Dickinson.
Forever is composed of Nows - Emily Dickinson.
When you consider life, it feels like a beach, a bulding, or a truck load of sand. It seems a lot and it seems important. It makes sense only when you look at life retrospect most of the time. We speculate the future with the amount of sand we see on the beach. However, life does happen with single grains of sand which on minute scale makes no sense. If taken alone, a second in your life doesn't matter. A second of your life during today would not even feel anything, It won't significantly affect the outcome. True? But I have shown you above that all what matters is the seconds. Imagine you stopped existing for a second in your life. I am sure you would disappear and die if that happens. That is how important a second in your life is. But the problem is our minds cannot comprehend a second, only can imagine it. Another example. Imagine a tiny cell in your body. How long does it take one cell to get a mutation and turn into a cancer? It is even less than a second. But if it happens and this tiny cell escapes all the repair mechanisms in your body would develop into full blown cancer in your body and there would be months and years of your life lost! That is how important the second in your life is. So what can we do when the forever is composed of nows?
What can we do about seconds of life?
There is nothing we can do other than to be aware of the present moment. If we just dwell in the past or even the future, the seconds which create life would be lost. We might not be able to see what happened during those times. Awareness is like the watchman of the Titanic, the ship. If you loose the consciousness to look at Jack And Rose on the deck, you will miss the iceburg and crash the Entire ship. Awareness can cost life! awareness can bult and enrich life. So, there is no time to be aware, as it is just now? The question is what are you aware of? Does it make sense?
Comments