Something else: one of the most important things I think you can do as a person is participate in something that is bigger than you, and by that I mean more significant.
There's a great photograph I saw in the paper today, a photograph of some rocket scientists. Something really cool recently happened: we (humans) managed to get a research rocket to slam full-on into a comet, way out yonder somewhere (yonder: it's a technical term). This is going to allow the scientists to glean all sorts of information and learn more about comets and rocketry and guidance systems and distance and all sorts of other stuff that's way, way over my head (but way, way cool).
So, there's a photograph of the scientists monitoring the computers as the rocket hits. They're in the control room, and they're on their feet, fists raised in the air, and cheering grins of triumph on their face. There's one guy in particular who looks really ALIVE! His hands are held before him and his face is lit up and he looks celebratory and chubby and elated and successful and positive. Why? Because this whole thing of getting the rocket to hit the comet is his doing? No way. He's not even named in the photograph caption. He's not even in as much focus as the other scientist in the foreground. But he's not thinking about himself at that moment, or about winning the lotto later, or whether the Twins will hold it together long enough to make the post season, or if he should have pork chops or dolmades for dinner tonight. He's celebrating this really, really cool thing that happened, that involved way, WAY more people than himself, but which he got to be a part of, a little part, just enough, but it's important and it's BIGGER THAN HIMSELF. This doesn't make him feel somehow discarded by the world or worthless or ignored. There's plenty of other things in the world that will do that to him, most of them on I-85 on the drive home later. No, it makes him feel terrific because he helped, and it achieved something (even something small like hitting a comet with a rocket, and it's still small, even if it's cool, and that's why the universe is so cool, 'cause it puts everything into perspective).
BUT, he wouldn't have been able to participate in something bigger than himself, and feel good about being a participant (which is a good feeling, and doesn't mean giving up your individuality), if he didn't "participate" with the other scientists, and that doesn't just mean getting lift-off and gravitational escape vectors figured out, it means showering, and being able to communicate with others, frequently about topics that are challenging because they don't necessarily mesh with his view of the world, and it means being able to put his own expectations aside sometimes, so the project lead can make sure everything stays on task, and it means he probably won't live to be the person who figures out that comet ice cures cancer. But the scientists that figure out comet ice cures cancer (or whatever) couldn't have done it without that guy, who had to make some decisions about his interactions with others in order to contribute something to the experience here on ol' Number 3, Solar System, local.
Warrior Poet
