The nucleus of an atom has protons and neutrons made of quarks and gluons. Gluons carry the force that bind quarks. Around the nucleus circulates electrons in a structured and orderly fashion. At the surface, the configuration this occurs in determines the label assigned to the atom. However, at the core, the quark is a fundamental universal component of matter.

During meditation or a walk outside, we may experience the core of who we are and feel an abiding sense of peace. In this space, untethered, we know who we are and who we are meant to be. In that stillness, a place where time is irrelevant and attachments loosen their grip, we touch the vastness of the universe. As if we are the quark itself, we expand beyond ourselves and our knowing grows.

There are only 118 distinct types of atoms while, as of this second, there are 7,740,114,560 people on the planet, each with a unique configuration of choices that define each one. In a global society, often defined by differences, we could do well to recall that, at our core are gluons which carry the force of the most fundamental component of matter-quarks.

-Katherine Keith

Link to VideoBlog