32. If you could combine 100 of the best minds in the history of mankind into one super‐brain, would that super‐brain be able to fully know and appreciate all the wonders of the universe? Probably not. The universe is simply too big, too wondrous, too fantastic for even a super‐human to know and to appreciate.

Imagine an ant crawling all over an elephant. That ant has little or no idea of what that elephant is all about. Imagine a tiny fish swimming next to a giant blue whale. That fish has little or no idea of how complex and magnificent that blue whale is. Similarly, we humans do not know, nor will we ever know, all the wonders of our universe. It's just too big, and our minds are just too small.

For example, many of us take the sun for granted; sometimes we even complain about it! How many of us marvel at it, wondering about its seemingly infinite power and energy? Yet the sun is but one of uncountable billions of stars in the universe. And each is remarkable in many ways, and in its own way.

Just as there are billions of different heavenly bodies, there are billions of different earthly bodies. Look at all the variety we have here just on our planet. We have seven billion people, and they all look different! How can that be? So many cats and dogs and cows look alike, yet it's rare that we find two people who look exactly like each other. Look at all the different birds and fish we have, the different two‐legged, four‐legged, six‐legged, and eight‐legged (and more legged!) animals we have, and all the different and beautiful plants. And all of these creatures are doing their own thing. What a marvelous world we live in. Yet, if you point out how fantastic a plant or an animal or even a rock is to someone, how often will that person respond by saying, "So?"

Sadly, too many of us are too busy with our "ant" lives to appreciate the elephant, or too busy with our "fish" lives to wonder at the blue whale. Like the ants and the fish, we all have our jobs to do, and if we don't do them, our existence and our survival are threatened. So, many of us have to ignore the wonders that Mother Nature has presented us, as we focus on the hard work of just surviving. But even when we have free time, we continue to ignore the wonders of the world, instead focusing our attention on activities that relax and please us.

It seems that the only time we marvel at nature is when it gets angry and ugly. But even then, we still have no idea, and never will, of how angry and ugly nature can get. 7.4, 479