Is the Universe friendly?
It certainly looks like it is set up to be so
If you had ask me “the most important question a person can ask” few years ago I would have answered “Not friendly” without any hesitation. I mean… just look at the news.
And I had moments when I would even have answered “hostile”. This seems definitely true sometimes.
I am glad that I am not there anymore.
“The most important question a person can ask is, “Is the Universe a friendly place?”― quote attributed to Albert Einstein
Nobody tells us this when we are kids. But we answer this question anyway. And at an early age. We found our answer in the way our family lives. Is our family a friendly one? Are our parents successful in providing a friendly environment? Then we conclude our universe is friendly, and we move confidently in the world.
Are we living in a struggling family? Are our parents too caught in their struggles to provide us a sense of belonging and safety? Then, the world is not friendly, maybe even hostile and we have to keep an eye on it all the time.
Our parents are the interface between us and God. A loving father and we will be more inclined to see in Him a benevolent presence. An abusive father and the very idea of an omnipotent presence that judges everything will sound threatening. And we are constantly afraid that God is waiting to bully us just for fun.
It took me decades to my initial answer and the mindset it brings. It was a long journey. It was worth it.
The old mindset was a consuming one.
“For if we decide that the universe is an unfriendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to achieve safety and power by creating bigger walls to keep out the unfriendliness and bigger weapons to destroy all that which is unfriendly and I believe that we are getting to a place where technology is powerful enough that we may either completely isolate or destroy ourselves as well in this process.
“There is a jungle out there. You cannot trust anybody. Take care of yourself because nobody else will.”
It is a trauma-based universe. It puts us in a flight/freeze or fight mode.
“But if we decide that the universe is a friendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding that universe. Because power and safety will come through understanding its workings and its motives.”
Is the Universe friendly? This is a question we have to answer for ourselves.
But maybe we can all agree on the fact that the Universe, or at least the human universe is set up to be friendly.
There is an emerging science of thriving. A science of happiness. Positive psychology is covering now the part of looking into what is helping us thrive. We were so focused in what is making us seek that for a while we forgot to look for what keeps us going.
We are at our best when we help each other. This is not wishful thinking, good vibes only or some hippie movement. This is deeply rooted in our biology.
We are biologically wired for connections and cooperation.
It is in our biology. It is our operational system. It comes with the ”friendly set up” pre installed.
But our traumas are re-writing the initial set-up. When we don't feel safe our attention and our energy is dedicated to protect ourselves.
Can we re-write our programs? Can we choose openness and cooperation despite our fears?
My answer is yes. And I will write about this in another article.
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