…. as told by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
“The most astounding fact is the knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on earth
The atoms that make up the human body
Are traceable to the crucibles that cooked
Light elements into heavy elements in their core
Under extreme temperatures and pressures
These stars, the high mass ones among them
When unstable in their later years
They collapsed and then exploded, scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy: guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen
And all the fundamental ingredients of life itself
These ingredients become parts of gas clouds
That condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems
Stars with orbiting planets
And those planets now have the ingredients for life itself
So that when I look up at the night sky
And I know that, yes, we are part of this universe
And that we are in this universe
But perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us
Many people feel small because they’re small and the universe is big
But I feel big because my atoms came from those stars
There’s a level of connectivity
That’s really what you want in life
You want to feel connected
You want to feel relevant
You want to feel like you’re a participant
In the goings-on of activities and events around you