It was recently renowned scientist Stephen Hawking’s seventieth birthday and I read an article on this remarkable man in which there was a fascinating quote from him.

If you haven’t heard of Stephen Hawking, there are two things you should know about him:

1. He’s smarter than you, me and your mom put together.
2. In 1963 he was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease and given just months to live.

Here’s what he has to say about his disability:

 The human race is so puny compared to the universe that being disabled is not of much cosmic significance.

How incredible is that?

This isn’t coming from someone who knows nothing about these things.

Oh no, this is coming from a man who has lived for almost fifty years with physical disabilities so bad he requires round-the-clock care… and from a man who has a better grasp on the size and complexity of the universe than almost anyone alive.

Stephen Hawking has managed to encapsulate into nineteen words a truth that we should all take note of.

This thing we call life is WAY bigger than we could ever see or comprehend and infinitely bigger than we allow ourselves to think.

We get so caught up in the small things, some of which are even small by human standards, and we fail to see that we are a part of something so much bigger, so much more significant.

I’m sure that Mr Hawking has his moments. He’s only human, after all, and there must be times when his disabilities are frustrating, to say the least. That doesn’t change the fact that he has recognized a much bigger, and deeper truth.

I want to learn to think bigger, the way he does, to be able to see past my ‘problems’ and see things in a more realistic light.

I want to think BIGGER!

How about you?