To the Citizens of the Universe

by Dlove

My fellow citizens, I write these words today, not as a citizen of the U.S., or even a citizen of the world, but as a citizen of the universe. It is to this citizenship of the universe that I address myself. It has come to my attention recently that there is simply too much negative shit going on out there. Maybe I’m just hypersensitive to it. Maybe I spend too much time perusing the “rants and raves” section of craigslist.org. Whatever the case, I implore you to be good to each other. As a citizen of the universe, there are really only a few rules you have to follow in order for everything to work. What follows is a little refresher course that will help make your stay here in this universe as comfortable and stress-free as possible.

In the beginning there was darkness, and then there was light and, little by little, everything came into existence and now here we all are doing our best to scrape by in life. We’re born and then, what the hell are we supposed to do? What’s the purpose? Why am I here? The purpose for each part of the universe: each being, animal, vegetable, and mineral, every single molecule and atom, neutrino, quark and string, is to do the thing that it does, whatever that is. Since humans are able to think and feel, our purpose is more obvious and yet, for some reason, more difficult for some citizens to accomplish.

When thinking about your purpose, it is also important to recognize that life is a gift. Maybe there’s a God, and maybe there isn’t. It’s not important. Even if the creation of the whole universe was one huge, random coincidence, it is still a gift to be alive. Gift-giving is reciprocal in nature; someone gives you a gift and, eventually, you give a gift back if you are interested in maintaining a certain level of friendship with that person. Thus, you must give a gift back to the universe. That is your true purpose as long as you are alive.

Many different tribes throughout the world have their methods for giving back to nature. Even the ancient Jews were instructed to sacrifice the first cow or first crops as an offering to God. If the gift stops moving, it is no longer a gift; it is a commodity. Here in the U.S., it is easy to think of life as a commodity. Car companies do it all the time; is it more cost-effective to recall all of their vehicles because they have defective tires or to simply settle the handful of wrongful death lawsuits that are an eventuality if they don’t do the recall? I’m sure that, if the car company decides not to do the recall, no amount of money would ease the pain at losing a loved one. Life is not a commodity, even if we try to make it one. It’s a gift, so the gift must continue to circulate if it is to remain a gift.

Don’t worry; you don’t have to sacrifice a cow or bury a hundred bucks in the woods as an offering. There is a much simpler way to give your gift. The universe is vast and has many citizens. Your gift should be given to each one. Sometimes just saying “thank you” and meaning it can be enough. Some citizens of the universe are not aware of their duty to the other citizens. They don’t understand their purpose. But you do. You are still obligated to give them your gift and explain to them their responsibilities as fellow citizens.

The really interesting thing is that, the more you put your gift into circulation, the more gifts you will receive. It’s a weird cause and effect type of model, but it’s very true. You may not receive monetary gifts, but you will receive gifts that help enrich your life and make you feel better about yourself. There’s something really special about someone saying to you; “Thank you so much. You really helped me. You’re one of the most generous people I know. I appreciate you.” If you don’t think that’s a gift, you don’t understand and I advise you to go back to the beginning of this essay and read through it again. It will make more sense the second time around.

I am thankful to be alive and, somewhere along the path of my life, I realized that it was my purpose to have as positive an impact on as many people, places and things as I possibly could. It is only recently, after reading a wonderful literary anthropological book called “The Gift,” by Lewis Hyde, that I have fully understood the connection between accepting the gift of life and passing the gift back to the universe and its citizens. I see so much negativity in the world. People seem to be in it only for themselves. It seems like people need a reminder of their true purpose. As a fellow citizen of the universe, it’s my duty to point it out to those that are getting lost along the way. It’s certainly not a new concept or even a particularly deep thought, but it is something that gives our lives more meaning than simply surviving. Accept the gift and pass it on.