The Endless All 

Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the stars?  Some scientists think there might be an endless “whole” or all surrounding our “observable” universe.  What an enormous idea!  You might be asking yourself, where do I fit inside this never-ending all?

 

Imagine a Matreshka doll, containing worlds within worlds within worlds.  Deep inside, in the very center, is the tiniest doll, safe and snug – right where she belongs.  Just like you.

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So if you fit inside the all, how can the all fit inside you?

 

You know that feeling you get when you think about the people who love you, the people you love most in the world?  That hugeness that seems too huge to stay inside your heart?  That feeling that feels bigger than the whole universe?  That’s the all -- right there, inside of you!

 

For some scientists, like Albert Einstein, the idea of the all is one of the great mysteries and beauties of life.  He believed that everything in life is deeply interconnected, and that the closer we feel to other living creatures and the natural world, the more we will feel both free and secure.  

 

What gives you that feeling of joy and connection with nature?  The song of a morning sparrow, or a sunbright daffodil?  Perhaps the rush of a glistening stream, or the scent of a woodland or a desert after rainfall…

 

Next time you are outside, try drawing a picture or writing a poem about how you feel when you see something beautiful in nature.  What about children in other countries?  What sights and sounds and scents in nature might fill their hearts with wonder and beauty?

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Our Universe

The Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies in our universe – astronomers are still counting them!   Inside the Milky Way are at least two hundred billion stars, including, of course, our very own sun, at the center of our solar system.  For a long time, astronomers thought our sun and our Earth were part of the only solar system in the universe.  But not any more.  Using new instruments, astronomers are finding dozens of other solar systems and planets.

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Maybe we’ll discover one day that there are billions of other planets!  But no matter how many planets there are, each one is special, and each one has its place in the all.

 

Our Earth is very special to us – it’s the only planet in the universe we know that we can live on.  Our Earth provides us with air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, a land to live on.  Can you think of ten things each of us can do, in return, to take care of our “blue and hopeful” planet?

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Home

There are all different kinds of villages, homes, and beds, all over the world.  Some villages and homes are near oceans, some are in valleys, some are built of ice, and some are on the side of a mountain. 

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Children in some villages sleep on a pile of blankets on the ground, high up in a loft, on a sail boat, or even in a hammock!  

 

Can you describe where your village fits on our planet Earth?  Where does your home fit inside your village?  Where does your bed fit inside your home?

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All over the world, children live and sleep differently, but they all want the same thing – to feel inside them that huge, wondrous feeling of belonging, of being safe and warm, of loving and being loved. 

 

For no matter how big the universe turns out to be, it will never be bigger than the endless love we feel when we open our hearts to each other, and to all the mysteries and beauties of life.