I have always been in awe of the stars and planets that lie beyond the confines of the earth. I remember lying on my back on summer evenings gazing up at the heavens. I tried to imagine the immensity of the space beyond my reach. I marveled at the effects of the daily rotation of the earth on its axis and the seasonal tilt that creates winter and summer, fall and spring. I thought of the beautiful precision of the earth’s annual revolution around the sun. The mathematical beauty of it all filled me with wonder.
When I was a fourteen year old freshman in high school my physical science teacher set up his telescope on the football field one evening and invited all of his students to come take a gander at the stars and planets. I’ll never forget adjusting my eyes and suddenly seeing Saturn with its rings looking as though it was close enough for me to reach out and touch it. I can still see that image in my mind and feel the excitement that consumed me in that moment.
Later the teacher focused the telescope on the moon. I saw its craters and stony surface. I thought of my eighth grade teacher who assured us that one day there would be a human walking on the moon. I would be twenty years old when that amazing feat actually took place. I was in awe and even a bit jealous of the men who had traveled to the moon. I imagined that one day humans might take for granted the process of traveling back and forth to celestial places. I felt both a spiritual and intellectual connection with the incredible brilliance of human capabilities. Somehow we seem to have always been ultimately destined to explore the universe.
I suppose that I will not live to see humans conquering and uncovering the secrets of the universe. I still imagine a day when we learn of other living creatures like ourselves. It seems logical to me that within the vastness of space there most certainly will be other beings with minds as creative as our own. I predict that the time will come when earthlings use all of the greatest minds to finally connect with whatever life is out there just waiting for us.
More than anything I am fascinated by the workings of the universe and the ways in which each planet and star follows a set of rules that determines where it will be relative to every other object carrying out its destiny in the vastness of the heavens. I suppose that humans have always looked upward with wonder and made attempts to understand how it is possible for the reoccurrence of the phases of the moon and the demarcations between day and night. Even ancient cultures attempted to learn the secrets of how it all works.
There are haunting places like Chaco Canyon in New Mexico where the Anasazi Native American tribe appears to have studied the heavens and made its movements part of religious ceremonies. With only basic tools and observations they were able to predict the solstices and the positions of the earth relative to the sun and the moon. I feel a kind of reverence whenever I visit there. I sense that the movements of the heavens have inspired humans throughout history to believe that there are forces almost beyond our comprehension that created such a wondrous system. Different cultures in different times and places have always believed that only a God would be capable of such creation.
For me faith comes naturally whenever I gaze at the heavens. I may not believe all of the rules and traditions created by human beings, but I definitely sense that there is someone or something bigger than any of us who somehow came as the universe began. Scientists tell us that it all started with a big bang, but who and what made that big bang? There has to be a starting point. Nothing comes from nothing so what was the magic that made everything that we witness today?
When I think of how small I am in relation to the millions of years that have led to this very moment I am filled with a sense of awe and even joy. It is all so incredible and I don’t ever want to take this beautiful earth where I live for granted. I truly believe that each of us has a duty to work together to keep the magnificence of our planet moving forward, not standing still or looking backward. The evolution of life has spanned more time than any of us are capable of imagining. It is now up to us to keep that forward movement going. We came into a garden of eden but we have not always treated it well. Our selfish tendencies have made so many of our fellow creatures and humans sick. It would be a grave sin to waste the glory of this place where we live.
I do not think that there is any more important issue on this earth than unselfishly joining together to keep our beautiful place in the universe working as it was meant to be. It is our duty to overcome the sins of those who came before us who looted and destroyed the land and its creatures and people. We can be happy and comfortable if we simply honor the great gifts that make it possible for us to live peacefully and bountifully on this blue orb that seems to have a very special place in the grand scheme of the universe. The God in whom I believe has told us over and over again how to live. His/Her message is quite clear. We must honor God, ourselves and each other. That means caring for the place that was intended to keep us all living without want. We have a job to do. It’s time to get busy and to demonstrate our gratitude for the creation called Earth.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 