Sunday, November 7, 2010
"Human Condition" by Tom Gunn
One thing I've been contemplating lately is my own insignificance. Perhaps it's partially due to the daunting uncertainties of my future (namely college.) I have been questioning my own individuality. My mind cannot possibly fathom the wonders of the universe, let alone the wonders of the earth. Lately I have been so engrossed by the thought that everyone has thoughts! It seems so basic, yet I cannot wrap my mind around the concept that while my mind is spinning, tossing around ideas, marveling, pondering, wondering, analyzing, remembering, the kid right next to me in AP Stats is doing the same thing! Right now on this earth, there are 6 billion stories being written, 18 billion being cherished or remembered, and perhaps an infinite more to be created. The line in this poem that haunted me the most was in the 2nd stanza, "I am condemned to be/ an individual." Among the 6,697,254,041 people on the earth (according to Google) I have associated with an estimated 1,000 people on a personal level. If those stats are true, then only .00000014931% of the world has ever been aware of my existence! I am .00000000015% of the population of the earth. And yet, many other .00000000015% of the population have actually altered the lives of the other 99.9999999999999999999999999999% of the world! I suppose the greatest lesson I learned is that 'insignificant' is not a permanent label. And perhaps one may be insignificant statistically speaking (being only .00000000015% of the population) but to the .00000014931% of the world you do associate with, you're anything but insignificant. "I must/find out the limitation/of mind and universe."Perhaps this is the "Human Condition;" among my own insignificance lies a unique individual with infinite potential; with the power to love, sing, dance, cry, hate, run, eat: with the power to be a ripple on the destiny of the world.
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I have these thoughts in meetings, at stoplights, in church, at the grocery store...
ReplyDeleteI hear ya.