Did you ever go in so deep you couldn't breathe?
An old oak tree, it's 300,000 leaves gently shimmering in the light summer breeze. Its trunk's bark, thick, cool, comforting in the shade.
For years this tree has awoken from winter's long dormancy, transforming dirt and air into an explosion of delicate leaves, renewing itself so beautifully, year, after year, after year.
Hold just a single one of its leaves in your hand and begin to get lost in its complexity and beauty. Its veins, pores, stoma, cells, deeper to its chloroplasts - little organelles within the cells, where photosynthesis occurs. Using the power of sunlight - 10 quadrillion (a million billion) photons per second, per leaf, these organelles transform carbon dioxide from the air, into carbon chains of sugars, starches, and cellulose. These are then transported throughout the tree nourishing and maintaining its life. Along the way the process releases oxygen, so that we may all breathe. This has occurred trillions of times in just this single tree, within these delicate leaves, each summer day, for a hundred years.
Go deeper still, deep into the immensity that is our galaxy - so deep you feel your brain begin to unhinge - as what you have understood to be you and your place in this universe begins to dissolve away as the true nature of everything begins to unveil itself to you - its unbelievable vastness, ancientness, endless complexity, and beauty.
Hold tight as your imagined coordinates, frames of reference, even your sense of self, everything you have ever known or thought you knew about yourself and your place in this universe, comes slowly undone - welcoming you to the edge of your sanity.
There is beauty, within beauty, within beauty, complexity within complexity. Knowing then, truly knowing, lends perspective - helping one to the truths beyond. Shallow human construct - everything you have ever known and used to define yourself and your world - money, power, wealth, nation, religion, prestige - all of it - human invention - all of it - make believe and magic. None exist except as people believe they do. If nation were real - where did the Soviet Union go? And as such all of it will fade away as you come to know the true nature of your universe - leaving you vulnerable and confused - the price to pay for truth.
But it is a price well worth it, for how can a galaxy, a tree, or even a single leaf, ever again be just backdrop to silly human folly once you have seen them, truly seen them, for what they are?
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