In the very early universe, hydrogen and helium emerged.

Eventually, stars were born, and within them new elements were forged.

Carbon. Oxygen. Iron.

The stuff of planets.

And the stuff of us.

That is fantastic knowledge.

It does not tell us why there is a universe at all.

And it does not tell us what a person really is.

But it points towards a marvelous mystery.

A mystery of which we are part.

Image: Pillars of Creation, Eagle Nebula, Messier 16. Infrared photograph. NASA / Hubble Space Telescope.

This post inspired by The Marginilian article From Stars to Souls: The Science of What Made You You, with a Dazzling Poem Read by David Byrne