I remember very clearly a New Year on La Palma, in the Canary Islands. It was close to midnight and we were looking at a magnificent starry sky with the children. I have rarely been so cold. We sat on rocks and snuggled under a blanket as the guide proceeded with his poetic description of heaven. "Polaris is 431 light years away," he said. I could not imagine then or manage now that distance. I felt tiny, but at the same time completely integrated into the universe. It was a magical moment.
Humans are tempted to put ourselves at the center of everything, and even more so Westerners, who grow up in secular cultures that celebrate the individual. We have a hard time keeping perspective. And if we live in cities flooded with artificial light at night, we can't even look at the sky and remember how tiny we are.
Our planet is just a grain of sand in the universe.