The universe stretches across time and space in ways our minds can barely grasp.

Among all the void between planets, we are but a tiny speck.

Some might say this makes us insignificant.

Perhaps so. In a hundred thousand years, it’s likely no trace of our individual lives will remain.

So we're both temporary and unimportant.

Many take this to mean life is meaningless. If we’re so insignificant, what’s the point of anything?

But I see it differently.

The spatial and temporal vastness of the universe is precisely what gives our lives importance. It is the backdrop that makes meaning possible.

Of all the planets and galaxies we know of, we're the only intelligent life out there. The observable universe spans roughly 93 billion light-years in diameter, and yet, we're the only beings we know of within it who can actually conceptualize the universe.

We've only been here for a fraction of a second on the scale of cosmic time. Creation has existed for billions of years. Humans—as Homo sapiens—for only about 300,000.

And yet we're here. We can understand this much: that in all the vastness of space and time, we are here.

And for but a brief moment.

We therefore have an opportunity. With the lives we’ve been given, we can make the most of our time. We can cherish our moments—the good, the bad, and the ugly—knowing that most atoms in the universe cannot experience the world the way that we can.