Antiquity breathes,
Momentarily birthing,
Cosmic prospect.
Circumference of breath-born horizons,
Specimens of ephemeral universes,
Cause of endings become beginnings.
Gravity of infinite black hole realms,
Reality fleeting as exhalation.
All of the above,
And a specter of time reversed,
To reveal,
The deepest privacy,
Of existence on the edge.
The divine feeling of perpetual creation.
An open invitation,
To witness universes in each breath.
And only few to explore,
This negative image of cosmos.
The Cosmic Respiration
Whitehead writes, “The many become one, and are increased by one.” This concept of unity-in-multiplicity is reflected in the poem’s lines “Specimens of ephemeral universes, / Cause of endings become beginnings.” Both Whitehead and the poem suggest a reality that is constantly renewing itself, where each moment contains the seeds of the next.
Isn’t it mind-bending how each breath can mirror the vastness of the universe? This piece beautifully captures the profound connection between our most basic act of living and the grand cosmic dance.
The idea of antiquity breathing reminds me of what cosmologist Carl Sagan once said: “We are made of star-stuff.” Our every breath connects us to the ancient rhythms of the universe.
The portrayal of breath as a cosmic force (“Antiquity breathes, / Momentarily birthing, / Cosmic prospect”) echoes Whitehead’s idea of “prehension,” where each entity in the universe is influenced by and influences every other entity. As Whitehead states, “The present contains all that there is. It is holy ground; for it is the past, and it is the future.”
When I speak of “ephemeral universes,” it echoes what physicist Brian Greene has explored in his work on multiverse theory. As he puts it, “We may be living in a universe that is but one bubble in a grand cosmic bubble bath of universes.”
The notion of endings becoming beginnings brings to mind what Niels Bohr, the quantum physicist, meant when he said, “Opposites are complementary.” In the cosmic cycle, endings and beginnings are two sides of the same coin.
The “divine feeling of perpetual creation” reflects what the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead called “process philosophy.” He saw the universe as constantly creating itself anew in each moment.
Furthermore, the invitation to “witness universes in each breath” aligns with Whitehead’s concept of “concrescence,” the process by which the many elements of experience are unified into a new creation in each moment. Whitehead argues, “The ultimate metaphysical principle is the advance from disjunction to conjunction, creating a novel entity other than the entities given in disjunction.”
So what does all this mean? Perhaps it’s about recognizing the profound in the mundane, the cosmic in the personal. It’s about understanding that each breath we take is a microcosm of the universe’s grand cycles.
Remember, every inhalation and exhalation is an opportunity to connect with the vast rhythms of existence. As the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.”
Take a breath, consider: How can you use this simple act to tap into the cosmic dance of creation? Because isn’t that what makes life so awe-inspiring? This ability to find the infinite in the finite, to witness universes in each breath. Your connection to the cosmos is as close as your next inhalation. How will you explore this “negative image of cosmos” today?