I came across this trivia not to long ago: "If the world was tilted one degree more either way, the planet wound not be habitable because the area around the equator would be too hot and the poles would be too cold."
The precision involved in the existence of this world is amazing. Just a change of a single factor can vary circumstances remarkably. As in global warming, a mere increase of 0.74 degree Celsius of the earth's surface temperature has resulted in extreme weather aberrations, melting of polar ice caps and threats of species extinction.
Not surprisingly, every organism, no matter how primitive, is also precisely pieced together in a most complicated manner, like a clockwork.
At the crag the other day, my climbing mate was yabbering on about the complexity of aphids reproduction to proof his point that humans are not smarter and higher than insects in many ways, and we are obnoxious and arrogant to assume that way. Yeah, whatever, I thought to myself, we do have a developed brain with more grooves, you know. It seemed a pretty boring topic at that time - who cares about ugly green aphids when I am trying to red point (complete smoothly) a route.
As I reflected later (when I got
really bored) and did some research, I realised that my climbing mate wasn't completely full of hot air after all. These tiny insignificant looking invertebrates have an all time low hierarchal position in the food chain - about every other insect eats them. Hence in order to survive, the aphids have a
great survival plan. They can reproduce without a male quickly (saves time finding a mate -
none of the
I'm-not-ready-to-settle-down-or-have-a-kid-yet kind of nonsense), resulting in up to 6 billion offsprings produced by a single female in one season. To top that, they can grow wings to search for new frontiers when resources runs low and also produce males when there is a need to diversify the gene pool.
Precision plus complexity equals existance in this world, from aphids to the
woodpecker, as I found out surfing around.
Reflecting of my own existance, as a complex higher organism (no offense to my mate the aphid reproduction expert), I am certain of that precision at work here too. Not just in how I was formed physically, but also in the people I meet, the opportunities I am presented with and how things eventually come to be.
I believe that the people that I stumble upon are never by chance but there for one reason or another. Sometimes the most significant people in my life are chanced upon so randomly, that it never fails to amaze me when I look back.
When I went evangelical "door-knocking" at the university student quarters one fine day with my church mate, I met my sweetheart and all time best buddy, Melvin, behind the first door we came upon. He eventually became my husband.
Even though my good friend and I were in the same school and tennis team together in the previous 4 years, she would never have become my closest confidant in my pre-college years if we didn't finally get stuck together as classmates.
Then there's also a good climbing mate whom I met when I first arrived in Perth through an online rock climbing forum. It was so random yet we hit it off so well. We hung out a far bit together, climbing at the crags and jumping off sea cliffs.
Sometimes friendships are forged against all odds. As a student, I did a practical attachment at a rural pig/ ostrich farm in Perth some years ago. It was owned by a big, rough and tough Aussie farmer with such a thick accent that I couldn't understand him half the time. Despite me dramatically crashing (fish-tailed and rolled over) his meat delivery truck and scattering prime cuts all over the outback, the farmer and I went on to become good friends and have been in touch since. Well, I eventually got used to his accent.
The list of random people that has impacted my life in one way or another, goes on forever.
That same aphid-reproduction-expert and climbing mate also asked me why I believed in creation when there are so many arguments against it, and why do I believe in God when I am a woman of science, in perspective to my profession.
From what I see, science supports the existance of God. The very existence of the aphid, the woodpecker and myself, along with the creation of these special people that I encounter in my life, reflects the precision and complexity of His works.
As for the age old debate of creation vs evolution, I'd rather leave it to the experts to argue until the cows come home.
I need to remember that life is more about the journey than the destination. I don't want to race through it all with my blinkers on, get there and realise how many things I've missed along the way. I don't want the track in front of me to be the only thing I have been seeing the entire time. I want to say "你好！(hi)" to the faces I pass and relish the different experiences I stumble upon.
