“With a view like this one in front of you, one realizes that there are no limits: most limits are entirely self-imposed” said my best friend (also a scientist), who is probably the most accomplished, hard-working and brilliant person I know.
We were having a special dinner at a restaurant located on the 41st floor of Mexico City’s Torre Latinoamericana –the only Skyscraper in the center of the city. Standing in front of the big glass walls, we watched the dying sunlight hide behind the volcanoes that frame the city’s skyline. The sea of sparkling lights below, in all its Blade Runner-esque infinity, started to grow brighter as the darkness was setting.
“Look over there, for example,” said my friend, pointing at some flat residential area on the distance “How many blocks around them do you think those people’s every-day world encompasses? Six? Ten, maybe? Many of them will probably spend most of their lives confined in the same five kilometers ratio around their homes, never going further. But when you see something like this, that shows the true magnitude of your potential space –all the possibilities in it– you realize that what you know is an insignificant part of the whole”.
“And this is only a fragment of the city,” I said while I looked at the endless tide of city lights, going over hills and small valleys, as far as the eye could see “and the city itself is nothing but an almost microscopic fraction of the world”. My friend added,
“We all live in our own microcosms. Whenever I encounter sights like these I like to remind myself of the possibility of expanding my life space–becoming conscious of the fact that I am the one who delimits my little universe. It is good to remember that there is a vast world out there whenever one feels bored or trapped in uninspiring quotidian views.”
The memory of that talk comes back to me every once in a while. It was a very suitable ending to one of the best and most memorable days of my life, right before starting my new life in Germany.
Recently, another one of my friends–I have very insightful friends as you can see!– wrote something adhering to the same topic:
“Whenever you feel trapped, whenever you feel like you are confined to a very small space (your bedroom, your office or your city), remember that at the same time you are also in the middle of two immense spaces: the world and the universe.”
Aerial view of Mexico City, as it looks right before landing or taking off at night at Mexico City's International Airport –one of my favorite sights ever.
Always remember to explore, to keep pushing and expanding your world. That's a little thought for today.
Cheers,
Irime
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