There is no “blueprint” in life.
The blueprint. Now that is something to think about.
The blueprint process was introduced in 1842 by John Herschel. He was an English scientist best known for his work in astronomy and photography.
Herschel didn’t set out to change architecture. Like forever. No. What he was really doing was experimenting with photographic techniques. And in all his trials, he developed the cyanotype process. It allowed drawings to be copied quickly and cheaply by exposing paper coated with iron salts to sunlight. The result was a white image on a deep blue background.
And there it is. That blue background is where the word blueprint comes from.
Before this, copying technical drawings was painfully slow and expensive. It usually had to be done by hand.
Anyway. Those cyanotypes caught on in the late 1800s. Once they did, architects, engineers, shipbuilders, and inventors jumped on board. They suddenly had an efficient way to reproduce plans. This created a massive shift in the building industry. It helped fuel the Industrial Revolution’s obsession with precision and scale.
Even though we no longer use them much, “blueprint” has stuck as a metaphor for any master plan.
And back to our lives. The blueprint. And that master plan.
We don’t get a playbook. We don’t get a set of instructions tattooed on our butts when we are born.
We have to learn as we go. Hopefully, we can do this with patience and goodness as we work through it all. And dignity too.
But all of us should know, deep down, that our lives have weight and meaning.
Somehow, in this world, we are often taught to doubt our own worth. In the day-to-day of things, the systems of society can make us feel like we don’t matter very much. But we should refuse that lie. We should always try to build our lives on the very good belief that we are somebody.
Yes. Goodness, compassion, and learning begin with self-respect. When we believe our life has “ultimate significance,” we move outward and inward at the same time. We exist. And we are worthy.
And from that place, we’re better equipped to recognize the worth and dignity of others, too.
Everything starts with knowing we count.
Because we do. You do. I do.
We matter.
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“Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.” — Aristotle
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“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” — Buddha
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