I’ve been contemplating the size of things lately. Not like “I’m 6’1” and my wife is 5’ 8”” sizes, but more like macro-verse vs. micro-verse scales of things. Take the universe, for example. It would be useless to try and describe just how big the near infinite universe is since we cannot conceptualize that size, but the opposite is true with small things. Conceptualize the size of an ant. Easy. Now conceptualize the atoms the ant is made of. Take it farther than that. Conceptualize the quarks the atoms are made of. Not possible. Mind-blowing if you think about it for too long, right?
I was recently meditating near a creek and looked down to see a micro-verse in the water below. It was reminiscent of the macro-verse to me in that there are deposits of minerals and gases, uninhabited growths, objects colliding to form new objects and (most importantly for my example) living creatures going about their lives on the micro scale, which got me thinking: what creatures of such scale could be observing us like I’m observing these creatures? And then I had to stop thinking about it because it spooked me so much. The idea that there are things outside of our ability to observe is not new to philosophy. Ghosts and ghoulies and whatnot are a part of our daily lives from our vernacular to our paranoias and to our religions, but if we delve into quantum mechanics, multiverse theory, or the simulation theory, we have to at least consider the idea that there is something that is at least able to observe us at such a scale even if they are not actively doing so, and that is terrifying to consider.
Anyway, next time you happen to notice a tiny universe unaware of your presence, I hope you ponder the possibility that we may be someone else’s tiny universe and maybe I won't be alone in the thought.
Be safe. Be kind. Observe.