We hear it often these days. “We are beings of light.” Many in the “self-help” and “spiritual” world use this term repeatedly. They say that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
I think it’s a beautiful idea, really. To me, it seems both comforting and uplifting.
And maybe, just maybe. It is true.
But how about if we take a step back and look closer?
From a scientific point of view, humans are not literally made of light. We know this. We are made of atoms. Atoms are made of particles. And those particles are never still.
Atoms vibrate. They spin. They are in constant motion. Every cell in our bodies is a tiny mixture of energy that is in constant movement. In that sense, we are not solid at all. If you could see an atom, you’d know that at that level, we are 99.9% empty space.
Physics tells us that matter and energy are deeply intertwined. Once again, at the most basic level, what we call “solid” is mostly empty space held together by forces we can’t see. Energy. So when people say we are beings of energy, that’s a thing of fact.
But light itself is something altogether different. Light is a carrier. Basically, it is a wave and a particle. Without light, there is no seeing, no photosynthesis, no warmth. There is no life as we know it. But we humans don’t emit light as stars do. We depend on it like crazy, but we don’t produce it.
So maybe calling ourselves “beings of light” is metaphorical rather than literal.
Maybe those spiritual gurus use it as a way of saying we are conscious participants in a world dependent on light.
We reflect. We perceive. We generate ideas. We pass our understanding from one person to the next.
But it all circles around to the big question. Why are we here?
Science can explain the how. Evolution. Biology. Chemistry. But our spiritual meaning is a different story entirely.
Meaning. What is my life’s meaning? What is yours?
Perhaps humans exist to experience. To notice. To feel awe and fear and love. To ask questions that don’t always have answers. Maybe we are just here to learn.
And that longing to understand, to connect, to make sense of our brief time here is probably the most human thing of all.
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“You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.” — Alan Watts
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“Energy is the essence of life.” — Albert Einstein
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“Not everything that is real is visible.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
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“We are meaning-seeking creatures.” — Viktor Frankl
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