Something (a perspective on life) to reflect upon for pilgrims (and us all...)...

alexwalker · Jan 14, 2020

THE PALE BLUE DOT OF EARTH
This image of Earth is one of 60 frames taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft on February 14, 1990 from a distance of more than 6 billion kilometers (4 trillion miles) and about 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. In the image the Earth is a mere point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Our planet was caught in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the Sun. Carl Sagan got the idea of taking this one last shot of The Earth from 6 billion kilometres avay, some 1 billion kilometres out from Pluto. It is mind-boggling, don't you think? And even so, this picture is just a tiny pixel of the Universe, or rather, an insignificant part of its infinity...

Set your perspectives, pilgrim. Forget all trivialities, live in the now, and put aside all small things we bother our lives with...

This picture provoked/inspired the famous astronomer Carl Sagan, a beautiful fellow human being with great insight, to write the following:

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

-- Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994
Copyright © 1994 by Carl Sagan

Derrybiketours · Jan 14, 2020

Amazing perspective and one of few posts I have nothing to add that hasn't been said or photographed

alexwalker · Jan 14, 2020

Derrybiketours said:
Amazing perspective and one of few posts I have nothing to add that hasn't been said or photographed

My pilgrim friend, hopefully it can actually give a completely new perspective on life. And I believe pilgrims are much more receptive to this insight, for some reason.

Derrybiketours · Jan 15, 2020

It reminded me of Osho who I discovered during my September Camino, existence is not a problem to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived. And you should be perfectly aware what the difference is between a mystery and a problem. A problem is something created by the mind; a mystery is something which is there, not created by the mind. A problem has an ugliness in it, like disease. A mystery is beautiful. With a problem, immediately a fight arises. You have to solve it; something is wrong, you have to put it right; something is missing, you have to supply the missing link. With a mystery there is no question like that. The moon arises in the night…. It is not a problem, it is a mystery. You have to live with it. You have to dance with it. You have to sing with it, or you can be just silent with it. Something mysterious surrounds you, especially on the Camino Francè, are we humans having a spiritual experience or vice-versa

Derrybiketours · Jan 15, 2020

@alexwalker Just now sitting at home flicking tv stations I happened upon a movie, the actor talked about a book by Carl Sagen. The description and narrative sounded familiar then realised its same description you quoted.

Peter Wright · Jan 15, 2020

alexwalker said:
View attachment 68612

THE PALE BLUE DOT OF EARTH
This image of Earth is one of 60 frames taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft on February 14, 1990 from a distance of more than 6 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) and about 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. In the image the Earth is a mere point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Our planet was caught in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the Sun. Carl Sagan got the idea of taking this one last shot of The Earth from 6 billion kilometres avay, some 1 billion kilometres out from Pluto. It is mind-boggling, don't you think? And even so, this picture is just a tiny pixel of the Universe, or rather, an insignificant part of its infinity...

Set your perspectives, pilgrim. Forget all trivialities, live in the now, and put aside all small things we bother our lives with...

This picture provoked/inspired the famous astronomer Carl Sagan, a beautiful fellow human being with great insight, to write the following:

Thanks for that, it has inspired me to buy the book. I felt many of that on my Camino and after nearly 3 months at home, a yearning for the simple life of the Camino.

alexwalker · Jan 15, 2020

Derrybiketours said:
It reminded me of Osho who I discovered during my September Camino, existence is not a problem to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived. And you should be perfectly aware what the difference is between a mystery and a problem. A problem is something created by the mind; a mystery is something which is there, not created by the mind. A problem has an ugliness in it, like disease. A mystery is beautiful. With a problem, immediately a fight arises. You have to solve it; something is wrong, you have to put it right; something is missing, you have to supply the missing link. With a mystery there is no question like that. The moon arises in the night…. It is not a problem, it is a mystery. You have to live with it. You have to dance with it. You have to sing with it, or you can be just silent with it. Something mysterious surrounds you, especially on the Camino Francè, are we humans having a spiritual experience or vice-versa

Excellent attitude!

alexwalker · Jan 15, 2020

Derrybiketours said:
@alexwalker Just now sitting at home flicking tv stations I happened upon a movie, the actor talked about a book by Carl Sagen. The description and narrative sounded familiar then realised its same description you quoted.

Beautiful video: I didn't know it existed. Thanks a lot, amigo!

Tincatinker · Jan 15, 2020

My gran told me "Get on with it. Do your best. The rest of it is beyond our doings." She was right, nearly. The rest of it is nearly beyond our comprehension.

Thanks @alexwalker. I still remember holding my genuine real paper copy of the Whole Earth Catalog and not opening it 'cos I was just looking at that cover picture and thinking "wow". And now you've added a rather larger "wow". Anyone in the market for an "Entire Cosmos Catalog".

And now back to our sponsors: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/

CaroleH · Jan 20, 2020

Thanks Alexwalker... that's beautiful and humbling.

VNwalking · Jan 20, 2020

And we think we're so important.

alexwalker said:
And I believe pilgrims are much more receptive to this insight, for some reason.

Maybe we've not so self-absorbed? Individually and coĺlectively...

Anniesantiago · Jan 20, 2020

Wonderful Post!

koilife · Jan 20, 2020

And if the scale of the universe seems overwhelming, permit me to quote another author who knows something about the stars . . .

Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance,

or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.

But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;

and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent.

For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made;

for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.

And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;

or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?

But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls.

--- Wisdom 11:22-26

VNwalking · Apr 8, 2020

Bumping Alex's thread, because it's a great reminder right now.
A lot has happened in the last 2 months and it is a different tiny blue dot that we are living on now than we were then..........

alexwalker · Apr 8, 2020

VNwalking said:
Bumping Alex's thread, because it's a great reminder right now.
A lot has happened in the last 2 months and it is a different tiny blue dot that we are living on now than we were then..........

Indeed. puts on a different perspective...

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Something (a perspective on life) to reflect upon for pilgrims (and us all...)...

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