In our busy lives, full of deadlines, drama and dreams, it's sometimes difficult to recognize the sheer vastness of the universe around us -- and our tiny, though precious, place within it.
This week, a comic strip that memorializes scientist Carl Sagan is serving to humble us, reminding us of the wonder of our existence and our responsibility to each other and to our planet.
Quoting from Sagan's seminal work Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, the comic strip was created by Zen Pencils, a website full of inspirational quotes in cartoon form.
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This "pale blue dot" strip also references a photograph of planet Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 spacecraft at a distance of about 3.7 billion miles from Earth.
First published online in January, Zen Pencils' comic strip has experienced a viral resurgence this week as netizens share and react to the moving artwork on Facebook.
"If the cosmos brings you humility in a state of overbearing pride, a mentality that all succumb to from time to time, then you are someone who can put things in perspective to better your character when it becomes of concern. That is a strength; that person is far from a lost cause," wrote one Facebook user Tuesday. "That person brings hope for a peaceful planet."
(Hat tip, I f--king love science)
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