A delicate lavender butterfly wing rises from a broken eggshell, casting a long shadow across a lavender surface at sunrise.

Original artwork, not a still

Cosmos ‧ 1980

Carl Sagan

We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The butterfly comparison makes a short life feel vast to the creature living it. In the same way, people can mistake their brief view of time for something lasting. The line asks us to see our lives from a wider perspective.

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