Carl Sagan wrote about earth’s place in the universe and our lives in his book “Pale Blue Dot.”
In his book Pale Blue Dot, astronomer Carl Sagan, wrote about being inspired by an image of earth. On February 14, 1990, as the craft Voyager 1 was 6.4 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) away from where it was launched, it turned toward earth to take one last image. It captured a pale blue dot in a ray of light coming from the sun.
Sagan wrote the following:
“Consider 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 video below captures Sagan reading his words. Check it out.
For Valentine’s Day, consider two lessons one may eventually learn about love. First, love is finite. Second, “love” is a verb.
First, remember that all love is finite. No matter how much you and your partner love each other, there is a good chance that one day you will lose that living connection to that person. Maybe your lover will leave you. Maybe you will leave your lover. But even if you both stay devoted to each other for the rest of your lives — unless you both happen to die in your sleep on the same night next to each other — one of you will go first, leaving the other alone.
All love is eventually lost. That is true whether we are talking about an amorous partnership, a family member, or a pet. We eventually lose all of our loves.
I know you are thinking, “Hey, it is Valentine’s Day, why are you being so depressing?” Well, one reason to recognize the limits on our love is so every day we prepare ourselves a little for that day when the end comes. You will never be prepared, but if you believe love is infinite, then the heartbreak, when it is sure to come, may be worse.
More importantly, another reason you need to remember that love is finite is so you will appreciate it when you have it. If you take a moment every day to remember that every day will not be like today, you will enjoy today and your love a little more.
The second lesson is to remember that “love” is a verb. This lesson comes from the singer Dion.
In his memoir Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth, singer-songwriter Dion DiMucci recalled one day when he was young and facing marital difficulties, he ran into the priest from his neighborhood. The priest asked how he was doing. The troubled Dion responded that he thought he was no longer in love with his wife. The priest replied something to the effect, “Then love her. Love is a verb.”
We too often think of “love” as a noun, as in, “I’m in love with this person.” If you look at “love” as a noun, you see it is a magical thing that happened and is beyond your control. That may be fine, but if you see it as a magic potion, then some day you will be surprised to discover that magic potions fade.
As Gretchen Wilson has told us, sometimes there are days when one may not feel like loving the person they love.
If instead of thinking of yourself as “being in love,” you recognize “love” is a verb, you may see the world in a different way. Then, you see love as a choice and obligation. Every day, “I choose to love you,” not “I happen to be in love with you.” It is that choice we make to love others that gives hope to the human race.
Thus, when things get rough, remember that you can still love that person even if you don’t feel like it in the moment. And if you are lucky enough to have somebody or something to love, treasure each finite moment. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Photo by Chimesfreedom (at the British Museum). Leave your two cents in the comments.
On July 20, 1969, astronauts in the Apollo 11 Mission landed on the moon, and the first humans walked on another world. People from around the world watched on live television in breathless anticipation of one of humankind’s great accomplishments, which still seems amazing looking back at the level of technology across nearly half a century ago.
On that date, the Lunar Module Eagle separated from the Command Module Columbia, which was being piloted by Michael Collins. On board the Eagle were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
NASA had originally planned for the astronauts to sleep after the Eagle landed. But with everyone wanting to move forward, Armstrong and Aldrin instead began preparing to walk on the moon.
After several hours, Armstrong emerged from the hatch. As he took the first step on the moon, he uttered the famous words: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Many listeners did not hear the word “a” that Armstrong meant to say, which affects the meaning of the sentence. So experts still debate whether or not he said the word.
About twenty minutes after Armstrong’s first step, Aldrin joined him on the moon. The two men spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the moon’s surface before the Eagle ascended to join the Columbia for the trip back to earth.
This short NASA video features footage that television viewers saw during the landing. To really appreciate the accomplishment, try to take yourself back to 1969 when the outcome was uncertain. And remember when we recognized that human beings could do some pretty amazing things.
Where were you when people first walked on the moon? Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via public domain.
The shooting early this morning in an Orlando nightclub became the deadliest single-day mass shooting in the history of the United States. There are no words for the tragedy, even while the media tries to sort through the gunman’s motivations when he singled out the Florida gay nightclub for his horrible act.
The politicians will have many words in the upcoming weeks, connecting the shooting to their issues, rightly or wrongly. We will hear more about the shooter’s affiliations and we will again debate a killer’s ability to gain access to weapons. And most likely, they will fail to agree on a solution.
At times like this one, it can sometimes be helpful to turn off the TVs and seek comfort in music. Maybe eventually there will be some hope that will lead us to songs like Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” But today, we can only think about the victims.
Along those lines, one of the sweetest songs about losing someone comes from Bruce Springsteen’s “The Last Carnival.” While the song was written about the loss of E Street Band member Danny Federici, it still seems appropriate for a wider meaning.
Moon rise, moon rise, the light that was in your eyes is gone away; Daybreak, daybreak, the thing in you that made me ache has gone to stay; We’ll be riding the train without you tonight, The train that keeps on moving.
It’s black smoke scorching the evening sky; A million stars shining above us like every soul living and dead Has been gathered together by God to sing a hymn Over the old bones.
Photo by Chimesfreedom. What is your favorite song of comfort? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In the latest version of “Online Time Killers,” we present you with one that tests your color perception and another one with simple black and white graphics to challenge your cycling skills.
First up is a website where you can test how well you detect colors. According to the website, “1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency.” See if you fall into one of those categories by heading over to the Online Color Challenge. The test is based on the Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Test, where the lower the score you get, the better you are at distinguishing colors. Unfortunately, I found out I’m not perfect.
Free Rider 3 features a challenging biking video with simple graphics. See if you can navigate the bicyclist through varied terrain, using your cursor buttons. The up button accelerates and the down button brakes, while the right and left buttons help you navigate your angle. There are various tracks designed by players, or you may design your own. On the ones I tried, I made it through some of the hurdles but have yet to make it all the way through. I just need to spend some more time on it. How did you do? Leave your two cents in the comments.
For Valentine’s Day, consider two lessons one may eventually learn about love. First, love is finite. Second, “love” is a verb.
The shooting early this morning in an Orlando nightclub became the 
