What are stars? According to science (and put quite simply), stars are immense spheres of hydrogen gas. These orbs of red, yellow, white and blue burn brightly deep within the heavens. How are stars made? Again, according to science and put in laymen’s terms, stars are essentially formed by large quantities of cosmic dust, drawn together by their gravitational forces. Why are stars made? Because gravity is a fundamental law of The Universe, and gravity has decided that this cosmic dust is meant to come together. Yes, but why? Because The Universe says so. But why? After all, besides consisting of gravity, our Universe is also governed by the laws of cause and effect. Stars are the end effect, but what is their ultimate cause?
Ultimately, the formation of all stars that have ever been and shall ever be is caused by loss. In the beginning, it was quite simple; each time an individual atom lost an individual, say, electron, The Universe sensed this loss, and decided that the formation of a star was in order. However, over the course of eons, these atoms evolved into molecules, and thence into amino acids and amoebae and fungi and ferns and mice and men. This being the case, it was of course perfectly natural for The Universe to evolve too which losses It would remain ever watchful of, from the electrons of atoms to entirely human losses.
Perhaps the reader is confused at this point and time. This is a perfectly natural reaction, as human beings are typically confused when new information is presented to their consciousness that their sub-consciousness has known all along. Stars are formed whenever you or one of your peers has lost something. The universal subconscious has known this forever. This fact has simply eluded you constantly upon waking, retreating to the Freudian world of dreams.
Surely you’re asking yourself right now, although you already know, what kind of human losses form these stars? The answer: all human losses. The day you realize that Santa Claus is really your father and the “tooth-fairy” has placed all of your teeth in a jar in the attic (and not within the mystical land of the fairies), the day your innocence is lost, a star is formed. Once your fantastic dreams of being a fireman, a superhero, or President are lost and replaced with a bleak future in middle management, The Universe recognizes your despair and creates a star. After sitting in your cubicle all day, hoping that you will come home to your wife’s award-winning meatloaf only to find your hopes shattered when you see that she only had time for peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, a star is thrown into the heavens. When that same beloved wife ceases to breathe, upon her last breath The Universe shall make a star. After days of mourning, when you prepare to go back to work and you’re doing your laundry and one of your socks is lost deep within the machine's plumbing, never to be worn again, lo! The Universe creates an ode to that sock.
Essentially, stars exist as a symbolic reminder of all that we lose. However, why should The Universe choose to make a star each time a loss occurs? Why not a bunny-rabbit, a maple tree, or a moon? Because The Universe is cruel; after all, It has decided that we deserve to lose things in the first place. Stars are not meant to remind us of our loss – they are meant to taunt us. Humans can stroke rabbits, climb up trees, and send Eagles to land on the moon. Stars are destined to remain forever within our sight but never within our grasp. Never again shall we hear the ringing of sleigh bells upon our roof, nor shall we run around in our underpants with a towel draped around our shoulders. Never again shall we savor the taste of meatloaf, or hold a loved one within our arms. Never again shall we enjoy the comfort and feel of a matching pair of socks. We are doomed to have The Universe shatter all our hopes and dreams like one might shatter a looking glass, and fling the broken shards deep into the heavens so that their jagged edges may shimmer and reflect what they were to us before being lost.
We can only thank The Universe that we do not see all of these losses at once, for if that happened we would go mad and be lost ourselves. But why is it that we do not see all of the stars at once? Science tells us that this is due to “atmospheric interference,” that Earth’s atmosphere as well as the fluorescent creations of man blocks the light from these stars. Quite frankly, this theory is absurd. Pause, if you will, for a moment, and think of the largest thing you have ever touched. Make this image clear in your mind. Now, proceed to multiply the size of this object by a million. Take a moment to ponder about the ponderous size of this new object. Then, multiply the size of this new object by a million again. Try to imagine the magnitude of that. Now imagine something that large, burning, glowing, giving of a golden luminescence. That is a star. Now imagine the light from this star, traveling millions upon billions of miles through space, flowing through cosmic dust, nebulous clouds, the rings of planets, until they reach a tiny little stone we call “Earth.” If the light from these stars, stars of immense size and brightness, can make it through the entire Universe, can science really expect their progress to be impeded by a few insignificant clouds and a mere few thousand 60-watt bulbs? No, “atmospheric interference” is not the reason we can not see all stars.
If you are near any city or other source of “interference” when gazing into the sky, you shall see only The Universe’s most significant and tragic losses. For instance, the feet of Orion represent the lives of six million Jews crushed under the boots of Hitler; Polaris represents nearly three centuries of freedom lost by the African race. If you are to see more stars, you must leave the territories of urban and suburban areas, not because they cause “atmospheric interference,” but because they are teeming with all that we have now. Can you truly expect to see what you have lost when you are surrounded by electricity, shelter, food, water, loved ones, clean socks, and civilization itself? Of course not. If you wish to see more stars, you must isolate yourself from more of what you are attached to right now. If you wish to see all stars, you must remove yourself entirely from Earth’s atmosphere, for it is teeming with all that you have, blinding you from what you have lost. You must traverse outside of our solar system, for its planets are still within the possession of Roman deities, and travel further, outside of our galaxy bearing the name of a corporate candy-bar, beyond anything that man has ever seen and named and thus made his own. From here, these outer reaches of space, and only here, you are free to bear witness to all losses. You are free to see all that has been lost, all that is being lost, and all that will ever be lost, for time has little meaning in this eternal Universe.
If you ever do reach this sacred place, this final frontier where no man has gone before, after you have wiped the tears from your eyes that started when you first truly realized all of this loss, look around you carefully. You will no doubt see an infinite number of stars, representing all losses throughout the ages, representing everything from individual electrons to gym socks. However, you should notice one star that stands out from all the rest, not because it is so bright, but because it is so dim, so seemingly insignificant. This star is your star, which was given life upon your death. The Universe treats your individual star as it is meaningless, because you are meaningless, as we all are, in this Universe of infinite loss.
What are we to do, we inhabitants of this cruel Universe? If The Universe does not care for us, how are we to show that we do not care for It? The only way to do this is to show that we do not care about loss, and take action to ensure that we see no more stars. There is only one way to do this. Mind, cloud cover does not count. Whenever clouds loom overhead, a major portion of the population is focusing on their possessions, fearing for them, afraid that these belongings will get wet. The mutual focus of many on what we have now prevents our losses from shining through the clouds. No, this selfishness does not count.
There is only one real way to block out all of the stars, forever more. Find someone who means everything to you, who means more to you than all that you have ever lost. Find someone whom you mean everything to, someone who cares only for you and cares not for the material losses they too have suffered. The two of you must truly love each other, more than life itself, more than all you have lost and all you will ever lose, and more than anything else you want to hold on to. This searching is the hard part, for love such as this is truly rare, so rare in fact that it has yet to exist. However, should you find that you are this destined couple, embrace. Upon that moment, the heavens will quake and the stars will vanish. The two of you will not care, for you will have each other, but the rest of The Universe’s inhabitants will stand in bewilderment. For a moment, there will be nothing but darkness. After this moment, however, The Universe itself will cry out in pain, as It gives birth to yet another star, Its final star – a star more luminescent and more beautiful than the sun, a star larger than all of the largest stars combined, a star that will breathe new life into all that we know. This lone star will take the place of all others, making all of them meaningless. Finally, the universe will become insignificant, and will cease to dominate over all. Your love will create The Star that will represent the loss of loss itself.