Just a Speck Floating on a Small Rock
Lydia Mulkey
July 19, 2022

I have been working on ways to reduce anxiety in my life. I have breathing techniques and stretches and eye movement exercises. They can be effective. It’s nice to have some tried and true tools that can help when things become overwhelming.

Then, there are those unexpected moments. No trusty exercises, no stretches, just a sudden realization that maybe my problems are so big after all. NASA’s Webb telescope has released its first images.
It shows the farthest galaxies ever seen by human eyes. It is absolutely mind blowing and impossible to comprehend. There are thousands of galaxies. Does this mean there are thousands of planets capable of sustaining life out there? If these are 13 billion lightyears away (meaning our images are 13 billion years old), what is happening in those galaxies at this very moment? When I first saw the image of these galaxies, I thought, "Am I stressing over a font choice, what people think of me, and how my clothes look when I am a just speck floating on a small rock in the incomprehensibility of space and time?"

I can’t help but stop and remember the old hymn that says:
Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
 
How Great Thou Art, and how small am I. What a privilege to be a speck on this small rock today. Perhaps it would be ok for me, just for now, to release my jaw, lower my shoulders, and take in a full and deep breath. Perhaps I could take this moment to worry less and just be. I think that would be ok, in the grand scheme of things.