Quote of the Week...from Stephen Hawking

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.                         ---Stephen Hawking

While I'm a big advocate for star-gazing, having learned the constellations when I was seven back in 1964, I don't think the above quote by the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking is necessarily literal in its intended application.  No, what I think he meant by it is that we need to turn our attention out and away from ourselves and toward our universe in its many manifestations and dimensions.  Dr. Hawking no doubt would have endorsed observing and studying our solar system and the stars beyond, but looking outside oneself can be as simple as flicking on the TV and attentively watching a football game, admittedly an activity that won't lead to striking revelations about the nature of the cosmos.  When I am in conversation with people imprisoned by their own narcissism, it is difficult for them to engage with me on any topic that does not directly personally relate to themselves.  These folks are stuck in an endless cycle of mental tape-playing and insecurity about their place in the world, with relatively little interest or curiosity in that world itself...unless it happens to directly feed into their own self-centered narratives.  I am no psychologist or medical doctor, but I believe that there are often strong physical, medical components to mental illness.  Many times, though, these are only predisposing factors and that one's one philosophy and how they direct their thoughts...in other words, people's own choices...can make the final difference between effectively functioning and even enjoying life and suffering from debilitating insecurity, resentment, and regrets.  I've always enjoyed a natural curiosity about what's around me and like to study things on their own merits without always being concerned about their application to my personal standing in the world.  I believe this attitude has served me well in counteracting my own tendency to often be a bit too introspective, or as Hawking put it, looking down at my feet.  With so many things to be curious about, how can anyone be bored...unless, of course, they can only think about themselves...