Two Infinities: Empathy and Ego

Jan 29, 2026

A small part of something infinite is still infinite.

While no individual will ever be greater than the universe in terms of importance or grandeur, each person still carries a value that is endless nonetheless. A smaller infinity is still infinite…

A multitude of infinities…

One of my longest-held beliefs, and simultaneously one of the most difficult beliefs for me to come to terms with, has been the dichotomy between empathy and ego. I have always felt as though a life should be led with empathy and love first, though empathy is an emotion that must exist in a state of outwardness. I say this because to feel empathy is not to think about oneself, but to think about all that is known and understood about someone else. To feel empathy is not just to imagine how one would feel in another person’s situation, but to take into account who that individual is, what they have lived through, and how all that they are has impacted the way they feel about what they are facing, while also putting yourself into the position that they are in.

I wanted to understand why this is such a pillar of my thought process, when it seems to exist in opposition to another facet of the human experience, that I do value, ego. Ego is one’s sense of self, the who of an individual, and it is a beast that must be understood through deep internal work. Ego exists as the scaffolding and foundation of one’s being. One faces outward. One faces inward…

When thinking of pillars of being, I see them as way stones that guide my decisions, and choosing one of these pillars over the other would give me drastically different results, and for some strange reason in my head they could not exist together, much less in harmony with each other. My question has been: how can I value and understand both pillars without forsaking the truths learned from the other?

I have recently come into the concept and understanding of multiple infinities, while in conversation with someone very close to me about religious and spiritual matters. I was thinking of the vastness of the universe and the infinite grandeur of the one who created it all, and I then saw how minute and infinitesimally small we were in reference to their magnitude. As if we were but drops in the bucket of a vast ocean called the universe. Or even the planet. Regardless of the reference point, I kept seeing humanity as small. It gave me a bit of a nihilistic view for a brief moment, until I remembered this concept I had heard of before, speaking on multiple infinities. There can actually be infinities that are smaller than other infinities, yet still infinite.

I found solace in that...

Because if humanity is made in the image of, and a part of, the universe, then humanity carries the potential to also be infinite. A piece of infinity is still infinity. We are simply a smaller infinity. An infinity that started later, and perhaps moves at an exceedingly smaller pace, but is still infinite in its value…

Now back to my previous point.

The dichotomy between ego and empathy can be explained through this idea of multiple infinities as well. Ego can exist in terms of self-belief and identity because it is an infinity. Potential and value for any individual human is infinite. And empathy can exist while getting out of the way of one’s own ego, regardless of its size, because empathy is a facet not only of the human experience, but of the experiential nature of the world. A greater infinity. And therefore, they can exist in tandem.

Maybe the self does not have to shrink in order to make room for others. Maybe it only has to understand that it is not the only infinity in the room.

A smaller infinity is still infinite.