ACCORDING TO ONE THEORY IN PHYSICS, once upon a time our entire universe was thought to be an incredibly condensed bit of matter. Perhaps as small as a grapefruit!
Then it exploded and all the resulting little specks now constitute what we call the universe of matter. This vast expanse is filled essentially with space—and with those occasional specks of "grapefruit." We mortals live on one of these little specks. In fact, we are just a tiny bit of dust on a speck!
This, of course, is only a theory, just as the reality of matter itself is only a theory. But this universe of "specks" powerfully and graphically illustrates something fundamental about the nature of mortal existence. In a phrase, this "reality" is symbolized as fragmented, dispersed, separated, divided.
