Years ago, I used to think the universe was a vast, cold dark, empty place to which my existence mattered not even the tiniest bit.

Then I listened to a Radiolab podcast that changed my perspective.

The episode explores how we see color. And color, of course, is a function of light.

As a human being, I see only a fraction of the light that fills the universe. Gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, and low and high frequency light all exists, but I can’t see any of it.

But just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there!

This helped me realize that there’s often a disconnect between what we experience and what is so.

And just knowing that, I hope, makes us better able to live with greater awareness and compassion for ourselves and others.

The universe might be vast and cold, but I no longer think it’s the dark empty place I once thought it was.