Small Town Benefits

Tonight I was out walking.  Even with streetlights, there is minimal light pollution here in Ames.  This makes for great stargazing, especially at this time of year.  I was not planning to star gaze, but the air was crisp and clear, and the stars so bright that I could not help but notice the constellations.  I paused in the alley behind my house, as far from the street light as possible.  They were all there - the Big Dipper, Polaris, a couple planets and millions more.

I like to think about the fact that I am made of the same material as the stars.  That thought makes me so much more a part of not only the universe of constellations, stars, planets, meteorites and all things outer spacey, but also a part of the universe of humanity as well.  It's hard to dislike others when I think that we are so similar - we're all star material.  This reminds me of my favorite Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes.  If you don't know who this person is - google him - everyone should know him.

"Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us." 
— Neil deGrasse Tyson

"The most I learn about the universe, the less convinced I am that there's any sort of benevolent force that has anything to do with it, at all." 
— Neil deGrasse Tyson

"I want to put on the table, not why 85% of the members of the National Academy of Sciences reject God, I want to know why 15% of the National Academy don’t." 
— Neil deGrasse Tyson

So, me again.  All the feelings of grandeur looking at the stars, all the feelings of something bigger and more connected than myself, I agree with Mr. deGrasse Tyson.  These feelings do not have to come from something outside of us that we can not define or understand, they do not have to come from "God"  No, god is not the name for the universe.  We are the universe - creating, changing, evolving.  Our feelings of love, connection, hope, joy, fear - all chemical reactions of our star elements.  The reason we all feel them is that we are all made from these same elements.  We are the universe, how we treat each other, that is the god that we created, something outside of who we are.