A short YouTube monologue by Brian Johnson (Heroic +1 series) that surveys cosmic timescales—age of the universe, formation of the Sun and Earth, and major biological milestones—and uses those facts to motivate a spiritual message of radical acceptance. The speaker cites ages: universe ≈13.8 billion years; Sun ≈4.603 billion years; Earth ≈4.543 ±50 million years; first single-celled life ≈3.5 billion years ago; dinosaurs ≈250 million years ago; anatomically modern humans a few hundred thousand years ago. He references Michael Singer (Living Untethered), Phil Stutts, and Byron Katie and exhorts listeners to "quit arguing with reality" and adopt a grateful, action-oriented stance ("plus one").
Questions this video answers
Approximately 13.8 billion years.
Approximately 4.603 billion years.
Approximately 4.543 billion years (± about 50 million years).
About 3.5 billion years ago.
Around 250 million years ago.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic PLOS one. In our last couple 1s, we talked about the sun and the next closest star, appropriately named Proxima Centauri. We did some quick math and realized that the universe is insanely vast. Yes, that is the technical Description. And that 99.99% of the universe consists of absolutely nothing but darkness. Imagining the inevitable vastness of our universe should help us get a little perspective on our lives today. I want to chat about just how old the Earth and the sun and our universe are. Why? In addition to being a fascinating intellectual exercise, it is, as Michael Singer points out in Living Untethered, an equally powerful spiritual exercise. So, do you know how long ago the universe was created? Somehow scientists were able to peg the number at around 13.8 billion years ago. Think about that. Out of Nothing came something 13.8 billion years ago. My brain just exploded again. Now, next question. Do you know how old the Earth and the sun are? The sun is estimated to be 4.603 billion years old and the Earth is estimated to be about 4, 4.543 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years. God bless whoever did that math. Now here's a follow up question. What was happening during that 9 billion year lag between the inception of the universe and the creation of our solar system? Think about that for a moment as well. My brain just exploded yet again. Then, after a billion years, the first single celled organism appeared on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago. Then it took another 3.25 billion years for dinosaurs to appear around 250 million years ago. Fast forward another quarter of a billion years and a couple hundred or a few hundred thousand years ago, depending on whose math you want to believe. Early humans showed up. And as Singer says, all of that led to your great great great grandmother meeting your great great great grandfather. And all of which led to every single thing that had to happen exactly the way it happened for the miracle that is you to come alive. And yet, in spite of the sheer miraculousness of every single moment, that had to happen literally exactly the way it happened for you to be here today. You complain about what's happening right now, as Singer says, that's so absurd it's almost funny. And that's the starting point of his philosophy. Quit arguing with reality. It's bigger than you and me. It's been around longer than you and me. It will beat you and me in an argument every single time. We need to what he would call surrender to reality. We need to accept it completely, not with foolish resentment and or petty frustration. We need to radically accept reality. As Phil Stutts would say, we need to love what is. As Byron Katie would put it, this moment, with all its apparent imperfections, is a sacred gift. Let's accept it, let's bless it. Then let's shake our heads in awe as we smile and go do what needs to get done. Plus one, plus one, plus one all day, every day, especially today.
