Girl: How big is the universe?
Man: Infinite
Girl: How do you know?
Man: I know because all the data indicates that it's infinite
Girl: But it hasn't been proven yet.
Man: No
Girl: You haven't seen it.
Man: No
Girl: How do you know for sure?
Man: I don't, I just believe it.
Girl: mmm... It's the same with love I guess.
-A Beautiful Mind
I recently had the thought that love is not a choice, but rather it is something that either we find, or finds us through our lives. Many people said this is wrong; that we can indeed choose to love. I agree that we can choose to love, but to find love... I wonder what can be done about that.
We all have places that we search for love: religion, family, friends, sex, etc... The only truth that I can imagine is that love comes about when one is not alone. Perhaps loneliness is the absence of love. Perhaps the absence of love is an existential atheism. Though we all have remarked how much we love inanimate objects, I deem that love is not something that can be chosen, or found, or even stumbled upon with inanimate objects.
I wonder, whether it is a choice or an accident, when we know we have found love. Perhaps we may only know this when we find the end of the universe, but I enjoy entertaining this analogy. As I understand it, the universe is infinitely large and infinitely small. This would be in line with the quote above, but how many times are we mistaken about this? One man may fly to the moon, and certainly that is the end of the universe; where another man may fly the the furthest reaches of light, and deem that the end of the universe; and still another may - through means which seem utterly impossible to us based on the little we know of the possibilities of technology - fly past the reaches of light. I wonder which man has found the end of the universe.
So then, if this analogy truly follows, I wonder also which man has found love. Perhaps the man with a thousand concubines; or is it the man with a wife of 60 years; or maybe it is the young man who is madly in love with the girl of his dreams, and he is slipping the ring on her finger; but even still could it be the little girl who is absolutely certain that she is going to marry the boy across the street; or could it possibly be the man who, 20 years later, looks upon the picture of his beloved, praying for her return. This same question could be asked in reference to those who search for love through religion, friends or sex.
I suppose that the answer is such as the one in the quote. One may never answer this question, but is forced to act on belief.
The terrible reality of this world is such as this: if one believes in the wrong answer, the answer is still wrong.
Does this mean you believe in absolute truth?
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, the universe is, by definition, infinite, since, if it were finite, it would have a limit, which would mean there was space outside of its limit, but since the universe includes everything, then that thing would be a part of the universe, so it can't be finite. Cool huh? It would seem, however, that there is a limit to the space that is occupied by matter, but since the universe is expanding, that space keeps getting bigger - but what does it get bigger in to? Well - the nothingness that is space, which is really just potential until it becomes something which, in a strange way, redefines what it means to exist - not just as a place holder, but as a force of creativity, bringing something where nothing was before. deep stuff, am I right?
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