We shall not cease from exploration.
And the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.
-- T. S. Eliot, The Four Quartets
We know, as indeed some other animals know, that when we look in a mirror we see ourselves. The strange thing is, that if we extend this, we become aware that the universe has grown eyes - ours! That is the universe looking back at us in the mirror in the morning, exploring.
Our eyes developed from natural processes, just like flowers - another amazing development. There is no evidence that they were created by some magical being or advanced alien. They started from light sensitive spots on cells long ago and grew to meet the needs of emerging organisms.
Even more amazing is the fact that by the time we reach our level of development, our eyes are attached to a large complex network computer - our brain. Some image processing occurs right in the eye itself. It recognizes edges and corners, for example. But when you view a scene, only a small spot in the center is new information. The rest is filled in by your brain from past experience and assumptions.
Here is another explorer below, using her big brown eyes. She explores Winnie the Pooh and her own imagination. She will also give you an introductory French lesson - an impressive demonstration of the language processing and learning ability inside that network computer behind those big brown eyes and indeed every small child's head. Enjoy, she's quite a story teller, maybe an author one day.:
Sometimes I take kids out into the wild or star watching. Often they are bored. They can't see anything because they are looking without seeing. Sometimes I watch my Saluki sighthounds out in the desert. I think humans have better eyesight, but the Salukis see more - many things that I miss - but that is why they are called sighthounds, isn't it? After years of looking, as I learn more and more how to see, I am amazed at what I was previously unaware of - and how many other beings are here exploring as well. ...
Even bacteria are aware, but then so are we. So what's the difference?. …...
Maybe awareness is a matter of degree rather than quality …
As Einstein and others, including myself, have said:
The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.
more … the hall of mirrors at Versailles ...
So, the universe has heart, mind and eyes - ours - yours and mine. Go take a look in the mirror and see the universe looking at itself.
The eyes of Aishwarya Rai