Word Rich, Cosmic Calendar

BySandra Gould Ford
June 21, 2025
Life Well Lived

We arrive at the various stages of life quite as novices.
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Astronomer Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Calendar presents the universe’s existence in a single year. Here is how human life and the cosmos unfolds.

Human 1^st Stage: Before birth. Inside the womb, life depends on mother’s condition.
- Universe, New Years Eve: In 1931, Belgian physicist Georges Lemaître proposed his proposed his “hypothèse de l’atome primitive.” Later called the “Big Bang,” this theory suggested all space and time burst from a single atom. In the 1970’s, scientists started suggesting other possibilities, such as that the current universe developed from an earlier one. The Hindu, the belief is that all existence begins and ends while Brahma dreams.
Human 2^nd Stage: Infancy. Through first year, child can suck, cry, swallow and needs much care.
- Universe, August 28: Our solar system starts [4.57 billion years ago]
Human 3^rd Stage: During toddler years, intelligence, emotions and social skills develop.
- Universe, September 14: Single-cell life on Earth begins [4.1 billion years ago]
Human 4^th Stage: Children walk, talk and eat independently. The world intrigues. They want to learn.
- Universe, September 30: Earth produces oxygen via photosynthesis [3.8 billion years ago]
Human 5^th Stage: Adolescence. Puberty and sexual development accompanied by rapid physical growth. Often, increased impulsiveness and risk taking. Seeks to establish individual personality and independence from parents.
- Universe: December 5: Growing beyond bacteria, multi-cellular life develops on Earth [800 million years ago]
Human 6^th Stage: Adulthood. Physiological peak achieved.
- Universe, December 25: Dinosaurs appear on Earth [230 million years ago]
Human 7^th Stage: Middle Age. Beginning in late thirties, expertise increases. Problem solving improves. Signs of aging.
- Universe, December 30: Earth’s fifth mass extinctions destroys almost all life. Death of dinosaurs allows small mammals to develop.
Human 8^th Stage: Late Adulthood. More health issues must be managed.
- Universe, December 31, 12 a.m.: Forty million years ago, primates that would become Earth’s humans still living in trees.
Human 9^th Stage: Life Ends. This commencement period can include choices about palliative and hospice care as well as bequeaths. Loved ones can be involved.
- Universe, December, 31, 11:59:58 pm, Christopher Columbus finds Earth’s northern hemisphere. [NOTE: Asian people reached these continents fourteen thousand years earlier.]

Now that life can be understood in both personal and cosmic ways, keep in mind,

At every stage of life,
our inner self requires the nurturance of loving people
attuned to our feelings and responsive to our needs
who can foster our inner resources of
personal power, lovability, and serenity.
Those who love us understand us and are available to us
with an attention, appreciation, acceptance, and affection we can feel,
they make room for us to be who we are.
~ David Richo