Season of Creation Daily Day 13: Widening our circle of compassion

spiral shell

Photo used with permission | Jossuha Théophile on Unsplash

by Peter McLoughlin

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Double helix staircase in Vatican Museum

Double helix staircase in the Vatican museum, designed in 1930 before double helix DNA became synonymous with life. Photo by krishna81 (flickr.com/photos/24786512@N04) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Take a moment to reflect on the photos.


A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe"; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. 
 
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but the striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.                                                  

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)


God used beautiful mathematics in creating the world.

— Paul Dirac (1902 –1984) British theoretical physicist and a founder of quantum physics


Find a spiral and see where it takes you. 

Special thanks for the sacred origins of mathematics


Season of Creation Daily

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Editor's note: Season of Creation Daily is inspired by the Care for Our Common Home Ministry, Paulist Center Boston. To receive daily reflections by email, sign up here.  

This story appears in the Season of Creation Daily feature series. View the full series.

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