The tiniest of matters

I have spent a lot of time reading Ralph Waldo Emerson. He is a man I admire, one whose work I trust for knowledge when I am lost. But, there is one quote of his - that now clutters refrigerator magnets and graduation speeches- that I, while lying underneath a tree, unforgivably disagree with. He says:

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters in comparison to what lies within us."

It must be wrong. Behind me is this sturdy and selfless tree. Behind me are countless strands of grass working together to form and unified blanket of green. Behind me are chirps and buzzes and gusts. Behind me are birds and squirrels and wind and stars.

It must be wrong. Before me is the sky which swallows all else. Before me are other, smiling people. Before me is a planet so big it appears flat from where I am. Before me is the sunlight and yellow flowers and the smell of new leaves.

It must be wrong. What lies within me is a single person, and not even the cool, biological part of life. Within me are my thoughts and they are dark and unoriginal and unlikely to change anything. I am here right now but will be gone before I have time to figure out why. I am the smallest thing I will ever know.

And if I matter at all, I am the tiniest of matters.