Our Spheres of Reality

The universe bursts into existence from life, not the other way around as we have been taught. For each life there is a universe, its own universe. We generate spheres of reality, individual bubbles of existence. Our planet is comprised of billions of spheres of reality, generated by each individual human and perhaps even by each animal.

-Robert Lanza

I am not sure why, but I tend to sink deep into thought while running.  That being said, while running on the treadmill yesterday evening it occurred to me that I have spent a lifetime creating and living in my own little sphere of reality.  My hunch is that I am not the only person doing this, but I can only speak for myself.  So what do I mean?

Sometime along time ago (who can say when really), I unconsciously or consciously created my own little sphere of reality.  I will name it Matt's World just to make things simple.  Within Matt's World you will find concerns, habits, rituals, judgements, and the list goes on.  Before long, I started relating to Matt's World like it was the world in general, and so it became the world in general.  Nothing else existed or mattered.  Other people populated Matt's World too, but it was still just Matt's World.  None of this happened over night.  Quite the opposite actually.  A lifetime was spent building this little world of mine.  The people who share Matt's World with me are mostly handpicked (friends, coworkers, etc), and although they impact this little world of mine, their impact is mostly inconsequential.  It is Matt's World after all. When my world becomes too crowded, I kick people out. Sometimes people request access to my world, but I don't believe in open borders.  Break a rule in my world and the consequences are quick and fierce.  I wonder how long this world would have gone on existing had I not travelled to OZ.   

My run last evening exposed my small way of being and selfish thinking.  I came to realize that life exists outside of my make believe sphere, and it exists in a very big way.  I am not insinuating that I don't matter.  Quite the contrary really.  In fact I now understand that I, and the rest of the people in the world, make a huge difference.  We each impact one another directly and indirectly in ways that we may never know or understand. I mean just think about how much "stuff" is going on in your life at this very moment and then multiply that times 7 billion people.  Suddenly your piece of the overall equation seems that much smaller, right?  Hey, I am not ready to go out and buy a dyed shirt and hug a tree, but something really big shifts with the realization that life is bigger than one's "self".  Me, well seeing was believing.  I had to fly clear across the globe in order to realize exactly how small my sphere is in the scheme of things.  So what is my take away?

There are seven billion or so people on this planet and we all matter in our own unique way.  Each one of us will leave an impression on this plane of existence.  The impressions that we leave may last a long time or only for a moment, but that impression will impact more people than we ever realized.   My sphere of reality, and your sphere of reality, aren't real in reality.  They are all made up.  Right now, right this very second, there are people across the globe dealing with whatever it is that they are dealing with in their life.  How cool would it be if each one of us could recognize the impact that we have on one another.  What if we had the ability to see how another person's life changed when we said "I love you", or if we could see the end result of hurtful words like fat, ugly, stupid, etc. Most of us have stories about things we should have done if only we had known, but what stories might we tell if we knew what we caused? 

Believe it or not, there is a ripple effect, and we are all just riding the wave of the one before us and creating the next wave down the line. Every time we interact with someone, no matter how inconsequential it may feel at the time, we are impacting the lives of seven billion others.  It is kind of neat really, but it requires giving up a lot of what we think is true.  I am amazed by the people I have met on this trip to OZ.  Each of them writing their own story in life, and I am part of their story and they are part of mine.  People that I never knew existed prior to this trip, but now they share my sphere.  It makes me appreciate everyone in my life more than ever before.  I am also excited to meet the people that I never knew existed.  Some of them will live here in OZ, and some may have been part of my life this entire time.  Who knows...  I can tell you one thing for certain though, and that is none of us come out of this world alive (quoting my favorite movie). That being the case, I am going to live this life to the fullest.  I may require reminders along the way though. Enough said.

P.S.- I found the quote after writing the blog entry.  Coincidence, or am I just riding the wave? 

P.S.S.- I love you!