December 19th, 2021
Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief almost momentary the part marked for you. Think of the workings of fate and how infinitesimal your role.
It can be difficult to keep scale in mind. One reason, is to provide scale a comparison is needed. A comparison does not always have a method to physically apply a measurement, therefore we have to extrapolate.
Using examples where we can visualize the comparison can help emphasize a scale. Marcus Aurelius uses a fairly common example with both physical matter and time. Our egotistical nature will often not allow us to recognize that no matter how grand or detrimental our thoughts, words or actions might feel to us, our role is infinitesimal.
Applying reasoned choices to our life can result personally in an extreme high or a deep low. When that decision is examined at its actual natural scale, the choice at most made a small ripple around us. The ocean of choices that surrounds us was likely unaware and will continue to ebb and flow naturally.