BEING UNIVERSE-CENTERED

   I guess I’m no more self-centered than most of us, but I’m looking to let something else become the center of my life from now on – and I’ve chosen the entire universe. Strange as it may sound, I want to become more universe-centered. Instead of pondering the problems my little self seems to always have, I’d like to wonder more about what’s happening outside of “me” – what’s happening in the homes of people who are suffering with illness or scarcity, and in the homes of people who feel lucky to be alive; what’s happening in the forests and valleys across the world, where animals and plants prosper while I fret over my paltry problems; what’s happening, even, among the planets and stars as they swirl me along on our endless passage through time without end. I’ve grown weary of worrying about this small segment of the universe called “Ham”. There are majestic miracles surrounding me, for millions of miles on all sides, and I want to stay centered there. I want to set my “self” off to the side and see, almost for the first time, the wondrous universe that’s been waiting for me.