Have you ever looked at a large oak tree and wondered how long ago it sprang from an acorn? Or swam in the Gulf or ocean and wondered how long it had been a body of water? Or looked at a star, or the moon, or the dirt below your feet, and thought about their ages?
Even more mind-boggling is how many multitudes of people have lived their short lives on Earth, and then passed from it! That’s like counting grains of sand on all the world’s beaches.
Scientists think that the Earth is 4.54 billion years old. Coincidentally, this is the same age as the rest of the planets in the Solar System, as well as the Sun. And because our Sun is heating up, scientists also think that humanity has less than a billion years more to enjoy the surface of our planet before it becomes inhospitable.
A billion years?
No matter if we live to be a hundred, what a miniscule portion of time on Earth is ours! If there’s one certain truth, it’s that we are only passing through this world.
So how can we make a difference?
We must thoroughly and truly know our own strengths and weaknesses. We should not lie to ourselves, it’s a waste of time. We can use our courage, not our fears, and embrace our strengths and even our weaknesses, then use them not only to our advantage, but for the advantage of others. Because we’re not passing through this life alone. Those who travel with us are our spiritual brothers and sisters.
Each of us has something to give, something that can change the world in ways we may never know, or imagine.
We may be only an itsy bitsy, tiny part of Time, but our voice is meant to be heard.
Translating a World on the Edge 