Albert Einstein once posed a radical question especially for a scientist: “Is the universe a friendly place?”
Many of his peers were instantly outraged that a man of science would even attempt to place any type of value or judgment to the factual, concrete, linear nature of well, nature, for the question itself is as radical as anyone’s subjective answer.
There could be fewer more important questions in the world we live in to at least establish a tentative hypothesis, a working position. In fact, one’s personal response to this question is in many ways the defining point of one’s existence.
If I believe that the universe is a friendly place, conspiring in my favor, then from the time I awake in the morning to the time I close my eyes at night, my life rests in a cradle of positivity and purpose. I exist within a context of something bigger than me that supports my life. The parking ticket is a reminder that I need to be more mindful and share space with others. It is perhaps the extra moment I needed in order to delay my entrance onto the freeway before a terrible accident would have occurred.
However, if I believe that the universe is in fact not a friendly place and that forces in the field of my existence are conspiring against me, then my context is one of survival of the fittest, me against the world. I exist in a fight against the forces that would have me extinguished. The parking ticket on my car is an affirmation of a world that doesn’t love me.
What kind of universe do you live in?
Jeffrey Sumber is changing the world, one relationship at a time. For over two decades, Jeffrey has worked to understand the human experience from as many angles as possible. As a successful psychotherapist, marriage counselor, and life coach, Jeffrey has worked with thousands of clients who strive to live their best lives.
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