A short Heroic +1 episode by Brian Johnson that uses astronomical facts (distance to the sun, speed of light, Proxima Centauri at ~4.2 light-years, a light-year ≈ 6 trillion miles, ~2.5 quadrillion miles to the next star) and metaphors to reframe everyday complaints, urging gratitude, humility, and service to something larger. The speaker contrasts the vast emptiness between stars with the human tendency to fixate on trivial annoyances and ends with a brief spiritual/ethical call-to-action to appreciate life and get back to being one’s best self.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one, we used the sun as a trigger prompt cue to practice our philosophy and put the virtues of gratitude and humility and awe into action. As you may recall, we reflected on the fact that the sun is a staggering 93 million miles away. Somehow its rays are so powerful that even after taking 8 minutes and 20 seconds to arrive on planet Earth, you can soak up their warmth and beauty. I don't know about you, but I think that's crazy when you think about it. But here's what's even crazier. I casually mentioned the fact that the next closest star, proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light years away. You know how far that is? Neither did I until I read Michael Singer's book, Living Untethered. God bless you if you do. In which he walks us through the creation of the universe and some physics lessons to help us get perspective on our lives. Get this. Imagine holding a flashlight above the Earth. Turn it on for one second, that light will go around the Earth seven and a half times in a single second. Soak that in for a moment. That's the speed of light. Now, if you want to go from the sun to the next closest star, you'd need to move at that speed for 4.2 years. You know how far that is? Well, a light year is about 6 trillion miles. So if my math is right, the next closest star is about 2.5 quadrillion miles away. My brain just exploded. And you know what exists between the sun and that next star? Absolutely nothing. And you know how many stars are in the universe? 200 billion. And you know what exists between the light years separating every one of those 200 billion stars? Absolutely nothing. As Singer tells us, 99.999% of the entire mind bogglingly big universe is filled with absolutely nothing but but darkness. And yet here we are on planet Earth, failing to appreciate the miracle that is our existence, complaining about the weather on the way to work and the slow Internet connection on our zoom call today and or whatever other trivial things we're letting bother us. And that's today's plus one. If you feel so inspired the next time you look up at the sun, look beyond it, appreciate the vastness of our universe and the preciousness of our lives. Then feel your feet on the Earth and say thank you to whatever power you believe created all this magic as you get back to work being your best, most heroic self in service to something infinitely bigger than yourself. All in day one. Let's go, hero.
