In 2013, I was in New York City for a book event and took a cab to a meeting in midtown. The driver was from Sierra Leone and had lived in the United States for twelve years. When I asked if he returned to Sierra Leone often, he told me that he did not, though he still had family and friends there that he had not seen in a long time. I thought for a moment that maybe this man was here against his will, simply because there was employment to be had, and otherwise would have returned to Sierra Leone to be with his family.

I asked, “Do you prefer living in the United States or Sierra Leone?” 

The man laughed aloud and then apologized for doing so. “I do not mean to be rude,” he said. “It is just that your question is like asking me if I’d prefer living in heaven or hell.” 

This is the type of perspective that can only be gained through experience. Seeing the world with your own eyes. Absorbing humanities deepest miseries with all of your senses. If only I could have kept this awareness in the back of mind, allowing myself to be subconsciously guided every hour of every day by it, I may have discovered a steady sense of contentment and gratitude at my place in this world.

Let’s expand on this point with what Carl Sagan called the “Pale Blue Dot.” What he is referring to is the view of earth from outer space. It appears a lonely spec in a vast universe. Sagan said that astronomy is a humbling field study, able to relieve one from the delusion of self-importance. The view of our tiny planet from space illustrates this point. From the perspective of the infinite universe, you and I do not even exist. Ironically, I find comfort in this.

Our lives are small, even those that seem big. They are over quickly, even those that last 100 years. In the words of economist John Maynard Keynes, “In the long-term, we’re all dead.” So what do all the trivialities in our lives really matter?