The Improbability of Existence

You shouldn’t be here.

And yet, across millions of years and through the scourges of war, disease, and famine, humankind has somehow not only survived but come to be the most dominant species on planet earth.

A consequence of our evolutionary victory has been the accelerated progress and growth that has hit warp-speed over the last several centuries as we have evolved through the agricultural, industrial, and information ages to the smart-phone carrying, selfie-taking sapiens we are today (Whether this is an evolution or devolution is not a topic of debate for this post).

Nearly every aspect of human culture and society across the globe has gone through countless rounds of development, refinement, and progression.  It has accelerated the development of our species to where we are today and left us as the torch bearers for an entire global citizenship. 

In moments of great personal challenge, it is humbling to reflect on just how difficult of a path you took to get to exactly where you are.  

This is where perspective becomes important. 

Mathematicians have run the numbers and arrived as varying conclusions, but for simplicity’s sake your chance of being here today is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 in 400 quadrillion.

Whatever “illion” the probability is, a number may not resonate as well with you as an example would.  Put another way, imagine there was a single life preserver floating out in all the oceans of the world.  Within those oceans, there was also a single dolphin.  The probability of you being here today, reading this sentence on your phone or computer, is the same as that dolphin poking its nose through the center of that life preserver.

Pause for another second.  Take a deep breath.  Now another.  Difficult as it may be, empty your thoughts of the worries, troubles, and anxiety that plague your mind and for one brief moment in time consider this – the fact that you are walking this earth is a statistical improbability of the highest order.

Now, the question becomes what will you choose to do with that information?

Many will hear it, shrug it off, and get on with their lives as if they had just been told something as mundane as the daily weather forecast.  

Some will give pause, consider the implications for a brief moment, but quickly be reabsorbed by the more pressing immediate needs and concerns of the day.  

Few will internalize it and be fueled by gratitude and wonder at the very concept of what it means to “exist.”

Let’s talk about those few.

Faith-based people will call our existence a “miracle.” 

Scientifically-minded people will call our existence an effect of “DNA replication and reproduction.”

The grateful will call our existence an “opportunity.”

Why an opportunity?  There is no better way to show appreciation for the incredible gift of being than to put yourself to work in service of something greater than yourself, to achieve the highest vision of what you are capable of becoming.

Each and every day, by virtue of your infinitesimal odds of existing, you have a chance to define your own reality and take full advantage of the way the cards have fallen, stacking the deck to your own advantage.

• Will you choose that time to slump into a Netflix binge and shut off your brain?
• Will you choose to clutter your mind with endless consumption of social media?
• Will you choose to sling mud online and engage in the gutter wars that political debates have become?
• Will you choose to eat poorly? Sleep irregularly? Drink excessively?
• Will you choose to ignore important relationships and engage in useless gossip?
• Will you choose to follow a career path that makes you unhappy?

Every time you make a choice to live in the ways above, you are making a treasonous choice to your own existence.  This is not a statement of “right” vs. “wrong,” but rather a commonsense way to mindfully evaluate how you are choosing to live. 

Every one of the choices you make will take you closer towards or farther away from your ultimate aim.  The more you appreciate and acknowledge how amazing the fact that you are here is, the more inclined you will be to make choices that support the vision of the person you are worthy of becoming. 

No one establishes your self-worth but you.  That is why is it called “self” worth. 

As the statistically improbability that you are, you alone hold the keys to validating your place in this world, forging your path, and defining your role in the cosmic design. 

If you’re not into the big picture stuff, realize instead that you have one, singular, incredible life to live and to do what you will with. 

Live in the image of someone who knows, appreciates, and values what it means to be 1 in 400 quadrillion, and act accordingly.