I see myself as one focal point in nature’s magnificent lens of rainbows, receiving knowledge and wisdom from people, animals, plants, and countless generations before me. I am deeply grateful for everything I have received, and I hope to share what I learn with those who follow. I am no more important than anyone else. We are all part of the same extraordinary journey, receiving, learning, and passing knowledge onward. 

Why me?     Why not you?     Why not all of us? 

Just know who you are.

by Shahrokh Zadeh

11/1/2026

I have asked myself this question many times throughout my life.

Why am I here? Why was I born at this particular time and place? Why do I experience the world through these eyes, this mind, and this consciousness? Why am I me and not someone else?

I don't have a complete answer. I may never have one.

But the more I observe nature, question what I know, and learn from the world around me, the more I begin to see this question differently.

Perhaps Why me? is not just about me. Perhaps it is about every one of us.

I imagine nature as a magnificent lens filled with the colors of a rainbow. Countless rays of light pass through it, each photon symbolizing a tiny piece of information about the universe.

As the light passes through the lens, its rays come together at a focal point before continuing outward.

This is how I picture my own journey.

Throughout my life, knowledge and experiences have reached me from countless directions. Some came from observing nature. Others came through people, books, discoveries, conversations, and everyday experiences.

Some answered my questions. Others raised new ones. Some challenged what I believed, while others helped me understand how much I still didn't know.

Not everything I received was correct, and not everything I learned became wisdom. I had to question things, examine them, and sometimes admit I was wrong.

Little by little, these experiences shaped my understanding of the world and myself.

I see myself as one simple focal point where countless fragments of knowledge and experience have come together.

And for everything that has reached me, I am deeply grateful.

I am grateful to nature: to the Sun, Moon, stars, mountains, oceans, animals, plants, and the countless forms of life from which I continue to learn.

Sometimes the most important discoveries begin with simply paying attention to something that has always been there.

I am equally grateful to every human being who has contributed to my understanding, directly or indirectly, whether I know their name or not.

It doesn't matter whether their skin is white, black, or brown, whether their eyes are blue, green, or brown, whether they are young or old, women or men, or what language they speak, where they were born, or what they believe.

A child may ask a question that changes my thinking. An elderly person may share something that took a lifetime to understand. Someone who disagrees with me may help me recognize a mistake I would otherwise never have noticed.

Knowledge has no skin color. Wisdom has no nationality. Truth does not belong to one kind of person.

I also believe that political borders should not limit our search for knowledge.

Nature existed long before we divided the Earth into countries. The Sun does not recognize our borders, and the laws of nature do not change when we cross them.

I respect the cultures, histories, and traditions of different nations. They have contributed enormously to what humanity knows today. But no country or civilization owns the truth.

Much of what I know came from people who lived long before I was born, in places I may never visit. I did not create that knowledge, and I cannot claim it entirely as my own.

I am grateful to have received it.

But here is what I find most meaningful.

I am not the only focal point.

You are one, too.

So is every one of the billions of people alive today. So was every human being who lived before us, and so will be everyone born after we are gone.

Each person experiences a different part of reality. We receive different information, face different circumstances, and develop different understandings.

No two lives are exactly alike. No one sees the entire rainbow.

Yet we are all part of the same extraordinary journey.

Our knowledge may differ. Our opportunities may differ. But our fundamental human worth does not.

I am not more important than you because of what I have learned. And you are not less important because of what you have not had the opportunity to learn.

A person's worth is not measured by wealth, intelligence, education, fame, or achievement. Even someone who cannot contribute or communicate deserves the same human dignity.

We are also not fixed points in a motionless universe.

Even when we appear perfectly still, the Earth carries us through space, countless processes continue within our bodies, and our experiences continue to shape us.

We are living, changing focal points, constantly interacting with nature and one another.

And just as light can pass through a focal point and continue outward, I believe knowledge can do the same.

What reaches me does not have to end with me.

I can question it, examine it, learn from it, and sometimes transform it into something new before sharing it with others.

Someone else may improve what I have learned, correct my mistakes, or carry an idea further than I ever could.

And perhaps that person will share it with someone else.

This is how knowledge continues its journey across people, places, and generations.

Of course, just as a lens can distort an image, our minds can misunderstand information. That is why I believe we must remain curious, question our assumptions, and be willing to change our minds when better evidence comes along.

Sharing knowledge should never be about proving that we are right or superior. It should be about helping one another understand more.

And sharing is not limited to discoveries or inventions. Sometimes a simple conversation, a thoughtful question, an act of kindness, or the willingness to listen can mean just as much.

One day, my life will end, just as the lives of countless people before me have ended.

I don't know how much of what I have learned or shared will survive. Perhaps something will reach future generations. Perhaps most of it will be forgotten.

But I have come to believe that something does not have to last forever to have meaning.

A moment of happiness matters even after it passes. An act of kindness matters even when nobody remembers it. And a human life matters whether or not history ever records that person's name.

We are here for a limited time, experiencing a small part of a universe far greater than ourselves.

I find that remarkable enough.

And it brings me back to my original question.

Why me?

I still don't know why I am this particular conscious being, living this particular life.

But I can decide what to do with the life I have.

I can continue observing, questioning, learning, and discovering. I can appreciate everything I have received, respect the lives of others, and share whatever understanding may be useful.

I share because so much has been shared with me.

Not because I have all the answers.

Not because I believe I was specially chosen.

But because I recognize that my understanding did not begin with me, and I hope it does not end with me.

I am only one focal point among countless others.

And so are you.

So was every person who came before us, and so will be every person who follows.

I don't own the light, and I don't possess the entire rainbow. I have only experienced a small part of it, as you have experienced yours.

Perhaps by listening to one another, we can each see a little more.

My life has value without being more valuable than yours. Your life has value without being more valuable than anyone else's.

We are all part of nature, connected through our existence, our experiences, and the knowledge we receive and share.

We don't have to think alike, believe alike, or live alike to recognize that connection.

And we don't need to know why we exist to appreciate the fact that we are here.

I am grateful for everything that has reached me, and I hope to pass along whatever understanding I can.

Perhaps something I share today will become one small piece of someone else's understanding tomorrow.

That is enough to give meaning to my journey, even if I never find the complete answer to my original question.

Why me? Why not me? Why not you? Why not all of us?

We are here for a brief moment in the immense history of the universe. We have received so much from those who came before us, and what we learn today may help those who follow.

We are not the beginning of this journey, and we do not have to be its end.

We are simply part of it.

Just know who you are.ut my life.

Why am I here? Why was I born at this particular time and place? Why do I experience the world through these eyes, this mind, and this consciousness? Why am I me and not someone else?

I don't have a complete answer. I may never have one.

But the more I observe nature, question what I know, and learn from the world around me, the more I begin to see this question differently.

Perhaps Why me? is not just about me. Perhaps it is about every one of us.

I imagine nature as a magnificent lens filled with the colors of a rainbow. Countless rays of light pass through it, each photon symbolizing a tiny piece of information about the universe.

As the light passes through the lens, its rays come together at a focal point before continuing outward.

This is how I picture my own journey.

Throughout my life, knowledge and experiences have reached me from countless directions. Some came from observing nature. Others came through people, books, discoveries, conversations, and everyday experiences.

Some answered my questions. Others raised new ones. Some challenged what I believed, while others helped me understand how much I still didn't know.

Not everything I received was correct, and not everything I learned became wisdom. I had to question things, examine them, and sometimes admit I was wrong.

Little by little, these experiences shaped my understanding of the world and myself.

I see myself as one simple focal point where countless fragments of knowledge and experience have come together.

And for everything that has reached me, I am deeply grateful.

I am grateful to nature: to the Sun, Moon, stars, mountains, oceans, animals, plants, and the countless forms of life from which I continue to learn.

Sometimes the most important discoveries begin with simply paying attention to something that has always been there.

I am equally grateful to every human being who has contributed to my understanding, directly or indirectly, whether I know their name or not.

It doesn't matter whether their skin is white, black, or brown, whether their eyes are blue, green, or brown, whether they are young or old, women or men, or what language they speak, where they were born, or what they believe.

A child may ask a question that changes my thinking. An elderly person may share something that took a lifetime to understand. Someone who disagrees with me may help me recognize a mistake I would otherwise never have noticed.

Knowledge has no skin color. Wisdom has no nationality. Truth does not belong to one kind of person.

I also believe that political borders should not limit our search for knowledge.

Nature existed long before we divided the Earth into countries. The Sun does not recognize our borders, and the laws of nature do not change when we cross them.

I respect the cultures, histories, and traditions of different nations. They have contributed enormously to what humanity knows today. But no country or civilization owns the truth.

Much of what I know came from people who lived long before I was born, in places I may never visit. I did not create that knowledge, and I cannot claim it entirely as my own.

I am grateful to have received it.

But here is what I find most meaningful.

I am not the only focal point.

You are one, too.

So is every one of the billions of people alive today. So was every human being who lived before us, and so will be everyone born after we are gone.

Each person experiences a different part of reality. We receive different information, face different circumstances, and develop different understandings.

No two lives are exactly alike. No one sees the entire rainbow.

Yet we are all part of the same extraordinary journey.

Our knowledge may differ. Our opportunities may differ. But our fundamental human worth does not.

I am not more important than you because of what I have learned. And you are not less important because of what you have not had the opportunity to learn.

A person's worth is not measured by wealth, intelligence, education, fame, or achievement. Even someone who cannot contribute or communicate deserves the same human dignity.

We are also not fixed points in a motionless universe.

Even when we appear perfectly still, the Earth carries us through space, countless processes continue within our bodies, and our experiences continue to shape us.

We are living, changing focal points, constantly interacting with nature and one another.

And just as light can pass through a focal point and continue outward, I believe knowledge can do the same.

What reaches me does not have to end with me.

I can question it, examine it, learn from it, and sometimes transform it into something new before sharing it with others.

Someone else may improve what I have learned, correct my mistakes, or carry an idea further than I ever could.

And perhaps that person will share it with someone else.

This is how knowledge continues its journey across people, places, and generations.

Of course, just as a lens can distort an image, our minds can misunderstand information. That is why I believe we must remain curious, question our assumptions, and be willing to change our minds when better evidence comes along.

Sharing knowledge should never be about proving that we are right or superior. It should be about helping one another understand more.

And sharing is not limited to discoveries or inventions. Sometimes a simple conversation, a thoughtful question, an act of kindness, or the willingness to listen can mean just as much.

One day, my life will end, just as the lives of countless people before me have ended.

I don't know how much of what I have learned or shared will survive. Perhaps something will reach future generations. Perhaps most of it will be forgotten.

But I have come to believe that something does not have to last forever to have meaning.

A moment of happiness matters even after it passes. An act of kindness matters even when nobody remembers it. And a human life matters whether or not history ever records that person's name.

We are here for a limited time, experiencing a small part of a universe far greater than ourselves.

I find that remarkable enough.

And it brings me back to my original question.

Why me?

I still don't know why I am this particular conscious being, living this particular life.

But I can decide what to do with the life I have.

I can continue observing, questioning, learning, and discovering. I can appreciate everything I have received, respect the lives of others, and share whatever understanding may be useful.

I share because so much has been shared with me.

Not because I have all the answers.

Not because I believe I was specially chosen.

But because I recognize that my understanding did not begin with me, and I hope it does not end with me.

I am only one focal point among countless others.

And so are you.

So was every person who came before us, and so will be every person who follows.

I don't own the light, and I don't possess the entire rainbow. I have only experienced a small part of it, as you have experienced yours.

Perhaps by listening to one another, we can each see a little more.

My life has value without being more valuable than yours. Your life has value without being more valuable than anyone else's.

We are all part of nature, connected through our existence, our experiences, and the knowledge we receive and share.

We don't have to think alike, believe alike, or live alike to recognize that connection.

And we don't need to know why we exist to appreciate the fact that we are here.

I am grateful for everything that has reached me, and I hope to pass along whatever understanding I can.

Perhaps something I share today will become one small piece of someone else's understanding tomorrow.

That is enough to give meaning to my journey, even if I never find the complete answer to my original question.

Why me? Why not me? Why not you? Why not all of us?

We are here for a brief moment in the immense history of the universe. We have received so much from those who came before us, and what we learn today may help those who follow.

We are not the beginning of this journey, and we do not have to be its end.

We are simply part of it.

Just know who you are.