Look Up!

 

Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the Universe exist. Be curious.  And however difficult Life might seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at, it matters that you just don't give up.

Stephen Hawking

We can do better than what we are doing now, can't we? We shouldn't give up by thinking the things we are doing on this planet are okay.

Hmm!

Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, protector of women and children, seeker of the moon and  twin to Apollo, is the perfect eponym for the craft now returning to Earth after viewing and capturing images of the far side of the moon. 

With all the crap going on down here (and the magic and beauty that is not getting the same media attention as the crap) it was so lovely to look up yesterday, away from so much egoic absurdity and destruction, as Artemis carried humans on a quest where no human has ever gone before. It was so soul soothing to see the devoted coverage on some live streams...just minute by minute  play  by play as  this craft transversed each of of the 384,400 kms ( 238,855 miles) to its destination and back. So many of us were mesmerized for hours trying to make sense of what we were seeing. We were taken away from our attention on the chaos of global politics and blundering egos. We began to wonder, once again, about what makes the Universe exist!

Humans can do that!!!  They can venture up and away from "me-me" focus and explore the spaciousness of reality...connect to that mystery and magic which is so much greater than the tiny needs of the personality. This is what we should be focusing our attention and awareness on!!! This is where we should be putting our energy. Why do we resort, then, to doing the crazy things we do down here? Why do we focus on the messes we make when we could be looking in awe at the magic of this universe? Sigh!

Just the fact that this is the first time a human has viewed the wrong side of the moon and why that is so, is amazing. The moon rotates on its axis and revolves around the Earth in perfectly matched 27 days cycles. This rotation and revolution is so in sync becausee of tidal locking (the strong uneven gravitational pull of the Earth) ...that we can only ever see one side. It is like Earth and Moon are ballroom dancers and moon is always showing her smiling face to her partner. Her partner never sees the back of her head...well until he gets an ingenious idea to build and send off a little drone to snap pictures of it while they don't miss a step in their choreography. :) 

Those four astronauts will never be the same after this experience, I am sure.  They risked their lives for the joy of tapping into and exploring mysteries so beyond our limited focus here. 

Such a quest changed Edgar Mitchell, for sure.

You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics looks so petty. 

Edgar Mitchell

We need to change our focus, don't you think?

All is well.