It seems that our universe is 26.7 billion years old, since the Big Bang at least, and that it stretches for seven trillion light-years in diameter.  Those are just estimates, and it may be that the most recent Big Bang is just one of an endless series of contractions and expansions dating back far beyond our ability to envision.  It seems the universe is practically infinite in time and space, and our lives are just one infinitesimal speck occupying one tiny space on one practically invisible planet.

Not just that, but our lives are brief — infinitely brief in relation to those 26.7 billion years or the endless number of years that may constitute the true age of the universe.  It is less than one septillionth (one trillion times one trillion) of the universe by any measure, and the thoughts running through my head for the last ten minutes are themselves just one 4,204,800th percent of one’s allotted 80 years of life.  One’s thoughts and one’s life are nothing in relation to all that exists and has ever existed.  Not a cheerful thought amid this holiday season.

This sense of insignificance is one reason why I read the Great Books.  Knowing something of what has been written in recorded history, from Homer to Plato to Dante to Shakespeare to Austen and Tolstoy, expands my existence.  Reading great literature and philosophy, I am in the company of the greatest minds of the last 3,000 years.  That is still an almost infinitely small period of time, but it is something.  It enriches my life and makes me more than just the one trillionth of a speck of dust that I actually am.  I am an educated and inquisitive human being, and as such, my life becomes meaningful and valuable.  Life remains infinitely brief, but it possesses some importance.

Likewise, my love of nature and of exercise and of music — and of rich Indian food — makes it seem as though I am living fully in this moment, even though I am still just that trillionth of a speck living out its one septillionth of time, and bound to be erased and forgotten in the grand scheme of things, and to be succeeded by others who will subsequently be erased and forgotten.

Considered in this light, it seems that most of us don’t matter a great deal.  But in fact, we are all that matters in this, our singular place and time.  Each human being is a precious and divine creation playing a remarkable role in a vast and timeless universe.  Every moment of our lives, with their grand opportunities for learning, growth, reflection, friendship, and love, is something of great value.  Our responsibility to make the most of our years and to be kind and decent and to shelter the weak is also great.

Within this infinite universe that renders us small, we have the ability and the duty to live large.  We have the opportunity to create meaning and purpose and joy, and in doing so, we imprint a lasting impression of ourselves on that infinite universe.

We do count, and supremely so.  Now is our moment.  Out of the billions of years of time and the trillions of miles of space, we are the living — the only fully conscious creatures known to exist in the universe.  We live, and we control the shape of things on this planet, the only planet known to contain intelligent life.  We are the center of creation at this moment in time.  We are divinely created humans who have the power to arrange our world as we wish, and we must not abdicate our role.  We possess extraordinary qualities, and we carry enormous responsibilities.

It is because of  the enormousness of the universe that we must live our lives fully and not as the slaves of politicians, false educators, and controlling media.  We must demand our freedom and our basic rights.  We must be loving and caring and protective of others and live with honor and dignity.  We must accept our place in the universe, the one brief moment in one tiny corner of space where we are all there is.

For this one shining moment, we are alive in this otherwise dark and empty universe.  We have been given the intelligence to comprehend our position, and with science, we possess some knowledge of our lonely but remarkable place in space and time.  The universe is ours, and we must use every moment to defend our freedom and preserve the civilization that we have inherited — the only civilization known to exist anywhere across the trillions of miles and billions of years of existence.

Now is our moment in space and time, so now, on this earth, we possess the precious opportunity and responsibility to defend life and to influence liberty in the future.  We are not weak or sidelined, as liberals would like to believe, without the power to change the world for the better.  We are at the center of creation, where God intends us to be, and with this magical possession of life, we possess the ability to defend and preserve our inheritance from others before and perhaps to add a bit to that inheritance ourselves.  Our life is infinitely precious — it is the only life known to exist in the limitless expanse of space and time.  What we do with each moment of life matters, as does what we think and feel.

Accept the precious gift you have been given, and use it to defend life and preserve the civilization you have inherited.  Now is the moment when, by some miracle, we are alive in this endless reach of time and space.

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).

Image via Pixnio.