"We are Here" or How to Defeat the Total Perspective Vortex

My youngest daughter loves the movie, Horton Hears a Who.

If you are going to sit through a kid's movie over a hundred times, it holds up pretty well and believe me, there are much worse things to sit through than this film. One afternoon on the 132nd viewing, the film's theme of being a minuscule person in a giant, unfathomable universe struck a nerve.

Please note 132 is a vague estimate, there was a period of time during nebulizer treatments that we watched portions of "Orton and Jojo" at least three times a day. My two year old loves Jojo, the misanthropic, non-speaking,Who most of all. Totally fits her personality....

The film deals with the heroism of Horton, who trusts in his big ears and the fact that "a person's a person no matter how small". However, another strand of the film is how the Mayor of Whoville accepts his infinite smallness in the universe. This is much more fleshed out than in the book, "fleshed out", as in the character doesn't exist in the book. I could only think of the great scene from Carl Sagan's "Cosmos". It's amazing, so, you know, watch it.

If you're too lazy to watch (shame on you) let me briefly summarize. Looking back on earth from a satellite thousands of miles away, the earth is only a pale blue dot. That's it. All that we've believed in, accomplished and fought and died for happened on a fraction of a pixel in the universe. The pale blue dot is about accepting the earth's rightful place in the universe - a tiny, unknown planet. It should humble us all and remind us that for all our pomp, we are really a primitive and disconnected race. It should in, Sagan's words, inspire us to "deal with each other more kindly and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot".

The fact is, we are the Whos.

We live in denial of this, almost as well as the Whos do - when Horton flaps his ears over Whoville, over and over again, the Whos just take their sunglasses on and off to adjust to the insanity.

"Nothing ever bad happened in Whoville, never has, and never will" -- as the lead on the Whoville city council says. We take our sunglasses on and off - we tell ourselves the narratives until they fit us like warm comfortable sweaters. Most of all these narratives (nationalist and consumer identities, religions, etc.) tell us we are important. We are the center of the universe.

yeah, i know it's only the world revolving around "me" but it's late and i'm tired...just go with it.

Let me stop here. For long-time readers (ha ha ha ha), you may or may not know that I consider my self a Christian. So these words you might find confusing, troubling, or crazy.

One day I might find the willpower or time to outline my exact theology, but until that unlikely day, just take my word on it - it's complicated. For now, it will be suffice to say I believe God created a universe that is (from my limited human viewpoint) ultimately unknowable. As far as the human mind can conceptualize, the universe is bordering on eternal. If God made the universe, then, we must be small.

In Douglas Adam's excellent The Restaurant at the End of the Universe a torture device called the Total Perspective Vortex, "annihilates you by showing you just how infinitesimally small you are compared to the Universe".

Books 1 and 2 are outstanding and then the series just kinda goes down from there with each successive book.  I don't think I finished the last one. Although if I taught an absurdist, existential literature course, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would be on the reading list.


I don't think this smallness is necessarily inherently good or bad. In fact, the recognition that we are small is critical to letting go of our self-inflated importance and seeking a more authentic existence. Have you ever looked up at the stars at night and had the feeling of being inconsequential? The universe has created awe in theists and non-theists alike although with the size of the universe provoking (of course) different response and conclusions.

"What could define God [is a conception of divinity] as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God," Hawking told Sawyer. "They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible." -  Stephen Hawking (in a recent interview)


Because I do believe, I think our smallness shows us how special we are. At worst, we find ourselves alone in a vast, cold, life-less universe. Even in the best-case scenario, the universe is populated with islands of life surrounded by an almost unimaginable, life-less ocean. There is no doubt about it, humanity does seem to have a special place in the universe by virtue of being alive.

Ok, as you can tell I am not one of those "the universe is teeming with life' people. I could be wrong - but even if there is intelligent life, even lots of it - we still are millions, trillions of light years apart. It would be like telling you that you have a long lost sibling somewhere in the world but we don't know anything about that sibling. So, great you have a sibling but no way of knowing or communicating with he or she nor any idea where they might be in the world....So, so what?

Anyway, back to the film. At first, the mayor lives in denial of the entire possibility (thinking himself mentally unstable).... but eventually, he does accept his insignificance in the universe. He begins to trust a giant elephant in the sky for Whoville's very salvation. Don't confuse the mayor as one of Kierkegaard's "knights of faith" - his faith is based on verifiable evidence. Nonetheless, accepting his place in the universe means he must trust something above himself. Eventually, we all have to let go of something, and ultimately, I think it all ends up being about control.

Once we have accepted our role, and relinquished our ideas of self-importance we can move on to figuring out how best life should be lived. Now that I know I am no longer the center of the universe, what is my role? I answer that question by embracing the smallness - trying to integrate my role as a servant in my life. I struggle with this - but as I continue to surrender self to God every day a little more, I know my role must be one of helping and putting others first.

As the movie crescendo's the Whos must rally together and make enough noise so others hear them (and not get dropped into a boiling pot of oil). They shout "We are Here!" over and over - until they are heard.  I imagine that's what we are all trying to do on a metaphoric level every day.

"We Are Here!"; indeed.



Belief, Knowledge and Yoda

Yoda uses "The Force" to lift the X-Wing out of the swampy bog. The spacecraft floats above the water and Yoda guides it with his hand, gently placing the spacecraft to the ground. Luke utters in disbelief, “I don’t believe it.” “That is why you fail” replies Yoda. - From The Empire Strikes Back

"If I am capable of grasping God objectively, I do not believe, but precisely because I cannot do this I must believe." - Soren Kierkegaard


Believing is never as easy as it seems in abstract. The whole idea of believing in a God seems easy and most of all, well, neat and tidy. However, in real life you might find yourself awake at night wondering if this is all there is to life. For all I know we might be floating around in space, helpless, small and living meaningless lives.

In my small time here on earth I have learned that it's easier to let go of the answers - to let go of the assumptions and knowledge I have about life, god, belief, etc. I can't figure it all out and I don't need to. When we put God in a box (like Luke Skywalker or a person taking the opposite position of Kierkegaard) we will fail (in part because we are human). It's not about knowing but trusting.


“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." – Jesus (MT 17:20)


Jesus says even the smallest of seeds of faith will do great things. The beginning of every journey begins with one step. I believe that to be true and one day hope to live it to its fullest extent.

Pushing the Button: Faith & Community in Lost

In honor of Lost's last episode on Sunday, I decided to write about my favorite episode and scene in the series. Lost may have never regained it's simplicity, beauty and mystery from the first two seasons, but there's never been a show that has been as philosophically deep. It explored issues such as: Do we have freewill? Are humans good or evil? Can we change who we are? At the same time the series has (at times) been downright silly, disappointing and has left many a plot thread hanging. However, it's a network TV show, it has its limitations in form and it admittedly suffers when judged as a coherent piece of art. Even still, Lost is easily my favorite television series ever. I will miss Lost.

Insert Cliche Image from Show. Think about it - a blog with no readers, posting pictures that no one needs. The epitome of silly.

One of Lost’s fundamental and reoccurring themes is the struggle between faith and reason. This theme is best illustrated in the show’s second season episode, Orientation. To attempt to completely recount the story’s twisting plot could possibly cause a reader’s nose to bleed (thank you very much - that’s an inside joke for Lost fans). However, I’ll try my best to briefly set the context for a broad audience....just bear with me and oh yeah, spoiler alert.

Lost is centered on the survivors of a plane crash that happened on a super-natural (to put it lightly) island. There is a mysterious “smoke monster”, a crazy French lady who has been shipwrecked on the island for 17 years, and the whispers. Oh, and sometimes our survivors have visions and dreams of the dead, animals, etc.

All this is to say the island is a not just mysterious place but a miraculous place as well. One of the key plot points of the first season is the discovery of a hatch or underground shelter by the character John Locke. The buildup of the first season concludes with the opening of the hatch and it is immediately explored by the main characters, John Locke and Jack Shepherd in the first episode of the second season.

The “hatch” has living quarters and a massive computer station - all of which was seemingly built in the late 70’s. A man named Desmond Hume has been “trapped” in the hatch for a three years. He claims he has to enter a numeric code every 108 minutes in order to “save the world”. If Desmond fails to continue to push "the button" an enormous amount of electro-magnetism being held at bay by the station could reach catastrophic levels around the world.

Jack Shepherd and John Locke serve as proxies for one of the show's fundamental themes: faith and reason. For most of the series, Jack serves as the show’s primarily rationalist and is the survivor’s closest thing to a traditional leader. He finds the entire scenario incredulous; "You understand what he's saying -- it's insane, it's impossible."

Insert Cliche Religious Symbol  Here

...actually, if you ask me Lost. deals just with many of the tenants of Daoism. But that's another blog post.

John Locke is the show’s “knight of faith”. Although the viewers know his faith in the island and purpose is grounded in concrete, rational reason (when the plane took off he was a paraplegic; after the crash he could walk) the hatch represents a new “leaping off” point. While the situation might be "impossible", Locke believes the island has led him here and he accepts the mission of “pushing the button” with purpose. The hatch can serve as an allegory for the existential nature of life. Our situation is absurd, seemingly senseless and well, our proverbial hatch clocks are ticking. Are you ready to push the button?

The episode crescendos as the hatch timer is winding down and this exchange follows:

Jack: “Why do you find it so easy to believe?!”

Locke: “It never has been easy!”

Some believe that people profess faith because it's the easy way out. Faith is claimed to be a crutch, an "opium for the masses" or a deep seated need for a father figure. (Yes, I'm looking at you Sigmund and Karl)

Faith can be all those things, but the fact is, it doesn't have to be an answer - it can be a journey or challenge that bravely embraces the absurdity of life. Jesus never said life would be "easy".

Like Locke, I believe faith is not easy. I suppose I should clarify when I use the term “faith” I mean a real, authentic faith…not one that is practiced by rote, tradition or familiarity. Faith is not easy in terms of accepting the absurd nor is it easy to embrace your faith so fully that it informs your every action, every deed, every thought. Faith is a choice that should be made every day, even if it’s practice is imperfect.

It’s almost impossible not to project ourselves into art that we like. When I first saw this scene, I was blown away. It represented my own struggle to believe. However, when I finally saw this scene years later - I realized I had missed a huge point of this entire encounter.

In defiance (in equal measures of stubborn foolishness and bravery) Locke demands Jack join in this “ridiculous” act because he can’t do it alone. Although Locke himself can enter the code, he implores Jack to push the “Enter” button; which will re-set the timer. He realizes that faith is not meant to be practiced in isolation, but with others, with community…even with those who aren’t yet believers at all. “It’s a two person job, Jack” This also recalls one of the many mantras of Lost; “if we can’t live together – we’ll die alone”. Separate, we don’t hold ourselves accountable and often fail to see someone else’s perspective. Together, we build relationships that strengthen us as individuals.
Too often we view our spirituality in a vacuum or solitude. We might imagine ourselves standing as an individual before God at the end of time. We don’t have to “fight” the battle alone, though. Locke recognizes that believers need community. While much of our faith journeys have to start alone and even be walked alone along the way, faith is not meant to be practiced alone. Faith is supposed to build community.

In this episode, faith wins the day....but faith has it's pitfalls later in the series as well. I won't go too far the rabbit hole (that would be an additional essay and the whole point of this blog is FRAGMENTS)...needless to say I will miss all the questions the series has posed. I'm looking forward to the finale to see what, if any, ultimate meaning can be teased out in this final episode.

Here is the entire scene for your pleasure and enjoyment.