- CAROLINE

The vastness of the ever-expanding universe is nothing short of astounding. The earth boasts of magnificent oceans, enormous mountains, endless seas of humanity, and sprawling continents. Yet this mighty planet underwhelmingly presents itself as but a tiny speck…a dot…on the cosmic stage.Â
What chance then, pray tell…do human beings have? Are they significant in the grand scheme of things? At all? At any level? Do they have any purpose, or role to play – which impacts at the cosmic level? And so the fiery debate pitting the nihilists against the existentialists rages on.
Hitler orchestrated the holocaust where 6 million Jews were killed. The ugly face of hate and intolerance showed up as genocide in Rwanda. Over 800,000 people were killed in just 100 days. On the other hand, exponential technological advances are constantly churning out life-changing innovations. The possibilities of the singularity and consciousness of Artificial Intelligence are now regular dinner table conversations. All these things happen within that speck – the earth – which is delicately suspended in the dark space of an infinite universe. Â
Are all these human monstrosities, quests, conquests, biases, hopes, desires, destruction, achievements and breakthroughs merely egotistical and misplaced human vanities? Do these actions affect the balance of the cosmic equation, even in the feeblest of manner?Â
As yet, no factual answer exists. The best each person can do is to take a stance by adopting a view-point on whether or not human life has meaning. Some pick a side… others manipulate their fellow man’s fears of the unknown which is bred by the limitations of the human mind. Yet others merely observe as the world grapples with the mystiques of the universe. Like the majority of young people, Caroline may not have given this intrigue much thought. But one morning as she blithely went about her business at a shopping mall in a rural town, she inadvertently wandered into the existentialist camp when she literally stumbled upon her life’s purpose.Â
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Excerpt from Caroline’s Story:Â ‘PILLARS OF AFRICA:Â They Dared To Dream. Compiled & Written by Sheida
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