I’ve twice read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but it’s probably been a decade since my last read. One of the things that really struck me in the book was the concept of being “principle-centered.” Covey outlines how one can center their life around several possible elements: being self-centered, family-centered, career-centered, spiritual-centered, etc. He argues being principle-centered leads to greater balance in life, empowers people to influence others, and provides the foundation for servant leadership. I found it profound in my early 20’s and it still resonates with me today. Stick to your principles. Strong principles yield greater living.

But I thought about a slightly different framework, one I believe every single person in the world can support: being universe-centered. This essentially translates to living one’s life grounded within the scope of the entire universe. That we are small specks living on a small planet orbiting an ordinary star. That the universe is amorphous and unknowable. That our existence here in this time together is a miracle. And that we must move with the flow of the universe. I don’t think centeredness around the universe is incompatible with centeredness around principles. Principles are important in life and provide a basis for our morality. But to me they are resolute, unbreakable. Would you break a principle to spare your child’s life? When universe-centered, we can consider the big picture of our reality. We can treat life as a process and move with it. We can move with the flow of the universe.