80,000 and Six Degrees of Separation
An old man told me once that throughout a lifetime we meet, on average, 80,000 people. Then he thanked me for being one of his 80,000.
I carried his wisdom with me.
When our life ends, we will, on average, have met 0.001% of the population. The rest we won't ever know. That makes the world seem so vast.
An old woman told me once that it takes only a chain of five acquaintances to reach anyone in the world. We are only six degrees apart. She said she was grateful they had led me to her.
I carried her wisdom with me.
When our life ends, the whole population can feel our absence because we are only five relationships away. That makes the world feel so small.
I will carry them with me and pass their wisdom on. One day, my grandchild will hear these wisdoms, never knowing all the people who had spoken them before. My little act now, and yours soon to come, will be the path that lets it reach them. Our little chosen wisdoms.
Essay by Sipora
Read 134 times
Written on 2024-05-22 at 10:27
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