You Have Star Power

Ask Questions

“When children learn of the universe’s birth, they ask, ‘What was before?” These minds of ours, emerging fourteen billion years after the great flaring forth; these minds of ours, woven tapestries of the same primal particles emerging in the beginning; these minds of ours insist upon knowing what is at their own base. We wish to know the nature of the reality from which we arose, for then we will know our own deepest nature.”

Brian Thomas Swimme (“The All-Nourishing Abyss;” Parabola, Spring 2020, p.51)

          This statement by Brian Swimme, drawn from Hidden Heart of the Cosmos: Humanity and the New Story, reminds me of my conversation with three-year-old Ian, from his car-seat as we drove through the North Carolina mountains. Having just explained that we were passing by the college I’d attended at eighteen, he asked quite casually, “Where was I?” I made several attempts to explain why he didn’t exist at the time, as he became more and more frustrated with my answers. Finally, he yelled at top volume, “Just tell me where I was!” Groping for an answer he would accept, I told him, “You were with God!” His reply: “Oh.”

          Our minds are wired to ask questions, especially when we are three years old. If you’ve ever had kids, you will remember the “Why?” passage. About the time we’re ready to yank out all our hair, they move on to “What’s that?” followed by, “What do you do with it?” Hopefully you were better than I at answering questions. This is how we’re wired—literally. This is how humans build life-long neural pathways; by asking questions, experiencing, exploring, and getting answers.

          Hopefully, most of us remain learners. We keep asking questions and building dendrites on our neurons right up to the end. Keeping our minds strong requires the same thing as keeping our bodies strong: exercise and nourishment. Keep wondering, keep reading, keep asking every question that arises in you, and go find the answers. Do the research.

We know now that we are made of stardust. Composed of atoms that came from the same Great Power that gave birth to the universe, and just as the cosmos is ever expanding, we are too. In knowing as much as we can about the cosmos, we will gain a better understanding of our own nature. Just as we are on the threshold of explaining the origins of the universe, we are beginning to unravel the mystery that is us. I find that super-exciting. Keep asking those question.

                                        In the Spirit,

                                        Jane