Star Stuff

A co-worker mentioned today that we are supposedly all made of dirt. I pointed out that we are technically made of carbon, water and heavy elements cooked up during the process of star formation. This got me thinking. It boggles my mind that the Universe is so wondrous. Think of the billions of years that have passed, all the complex interactions that have occurred, all the incredible physical processes that have led up, slowly, inexorably, to you and me. Our noble pedigree is assured by the very fact that we exist at all. That out of the intricate dance of cosmic chance, the beautiful, dissonant cacophony of Creation, we are the result. It also, then, makes me sad to know how many of us choose to occupy our existence. How we look to the petty, the hateful, the vulgar. I am just as guilty as anyone else, of course. I, too, find myself caught up in the dirty, trivial world we perceive with our limited senses. I admit that it is overwhelming and so very seductive. But, unlike many, I long to rise above it, if only in my mind, and find a sublime elegance, a nobility, that befits our celestial origin. We may be imperfect beings in an imperfect world, but we have the potential, here, now, in this life, to be worthy of our amazing heritage. For we are the stuff of stars...