Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief—almost momentary—the part marked for you. Think of the workings of fate and how infinitesimal your role.
—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.24
The amount of matter in the universe is immense—on the order of trillions of atoms. What percentage of that matter does one human body constitute?
The earth, as far as science tells us, is some 4.5 billion years old and shows no sign of ending soon. Our time on the earth, on the other hand, will be what? Several decades, maybe?
Sometimes we need to have the facts and figures spelled out in front of us to fully realize the scale at which humans happen to exist in the big scheme of things.
Consider this the next time you feel self-important, or like everything rises and falls on what you do next. It doesn’t. You’re just one person among many, doing your best among many. That’s all you need to do.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman