The purpose of life is to continue to exist. Observing different life forms—some strange, some surviving in extremely unnatural conditions, such as feeding near thermal springs in the deep sea—fills me with wonder. Humans are the most advanced life form, capable of studying themselves as well as other living beings.

The innate abilities, growth, and learning capacity of a newborn child make me reflect on how human beings are connected through language. Are learning skills and basic grammatical structures programmed into us at birth, as the psychologist Noam Chomsky proposed with the idea of a “Language Acquisition Device”? The way newborn babies adapt to common grammatical rules in speech and its variations is truly remarkable.

Human beings have developed many languages, and these languages undoubtedly help human connection. Some languages, however, are considered sacred and are believed to create a divine connection. Yet, if an omniscient God exists, such a being would understand all languages. I believe that the divine connection—for those who believe in God—transcends language and spoken words. It is a soulful experience and a realization of truth, which may or may not take the conventional forms described by different religions.

If something guides me, brings me peace, or makes me feel directed toward good—whether through language or without it—I consider that to be a divine connection. Teaching and learning, observing how knowledge grows, and using that knowledge meaningfully help us become one with the universe. Becoming one with the universe, to me, is the true divine connection.