Reverse Ecclesiastes: Everything is fascinating, more than one can say!

In high school, I got an nihilist thrill from the two opening stanzas of Ecclesiastes. Years later, telling my three-month-old about our beautiful, startling world, I wanted an inverse.Nothing against nihilism! Sometimes it’s all we can muster. I’ve learned to accept hopelessness. And yeah, maybe it all ends with a slow fade, scattered particles drifting, current universe lifespan unnoticed by the ticking of that clock, until one-by-one opposite charges all find each other and annihilate. Go ahead and stare that abyss in the eyes. Let it look back into you. Maybe the project of survival is just the swerve of atoms in an insouciant void. Maybe that’s a story that can even bring you comfort, depending on where you’re at.But also, maybe every black hole is a new universe. Maybe our universe has already spawned 40,000,000,000,000,000,000 babies, each of which is in the process of spawning its own.Maybe we’re really just starting to learn about this universe, and there’s still so much to discover.Regardless, right now, there are trees and clouds and stars above you. Fungal synapses firing below. Wonders innumerable within your own body. There are beings performing breathtaking acts of self-sacrifice. New eyes opening. New hearts beating. Webs of care and reciprocity to welcome your unique contributions. Communities in which to participate. Causes to further. Worlds to author. Branching to be done.Look! Get full access to Scientific Animism at newsletter.scientificanimism.org/subscribe