Holocene

Something that has recently occurred to me: we're not going to be here long enough to learn everything there is to learn about life. And that is awesome. Think about it...there are so many unanswered questions, so many philosophies and doctrines and beliefs that we're going to be able to have these discussions forever. I believe that our beliefs are in a constant state of flux, that they cannot resist the gradual change as a result of our life's experiences. Overarching themes may persist, but there are so many facets to belief systems and philosophies for everything to remain perfectly intact.

We are always learning, we are always experiencing, and we are always changing. I remember one afternoon during sophomore year, probably a Sunday, listening to Holocene by Bon Iver and quietly playing along on guitar, minutes away from a nap. (Either that or Ocean.) This is the first time I've thought about that moment since it happened, and it's a nice reminder that little moments can carry their way through our lives, reappearing every now and then. I like the idea that we are not magnificent, despite prior allusions to the idea. As Justin Vernon says when describing the mood behind Holocene, "I think there's a significance in that insignificance that I was trying to look at in that song."

You are one of seven billion people currently alive. Eventually, maybe today, maybe in a year, maybe in 50 years, you will become one of way more than seven billion people who are dead. In the ultimate, grand scheme of the universe and your place in it, you are insignificant. But in the ultimate, grand scheme of you and your place in your own existence, nothing is more significant.