I am transported into a much larger picture
As we ponder our current state in the pandemic crisis that is gripping Earth, I think we being called to move into a larger perspective than our normal egocentric focus. Oh, yes; we must still attend to the mundane parts of being in physical bodies, but our standard social proclivities are now altered, and we must discover who we are without our previously standing “normal” social exchanges. For most of us, the pandemic stories we generate and experience are often fairly solo. The mind goes to “my issues with restricted mobility, my physical needs, my likelihood of contracting the disease, my boredom, the increased stress in my family relationships,” etc. Here in the U.S., the number of police calls for domestic violence have risen, which seems to indicate that a lot of people are not doing so well in the face of this global crisis.
There is so much chaos and suffering to experience and integrate. Yet, when I look at such inspiring images as the one at the top of this post, an immediate calm floats over me. I am transported into a much larger picture, and I realize that it is probably a better part of wisdom to pay attention to the compelling nature of such imagery. Somehow, when we view matters from the perspective of our planet, we are graced with a reality so much larger than sickness and death. Indeed, we are offered a moment of perfection in an otherwise imperfect global experience. While viewing this image changes nothing in the due course of the pandemic or the looming financial and economic crises, something does change: me. I am expanded subtly, but palpably, and I somehow take encouragement from remembering I am an offspring of this beautiful planet. Perhaps it works that way for others of you, as well.
So, with the intent of opening to a little inspiration, here is a link to a remarkable video, narrated by Carl Sagan some 25 years ago. The link below was recently forwarded to me by the kindness of Swami Chidrupanada, and although I remember having seen it a number of years ago, it spoke to me in an entirely new manner, given the stresses of planetary life at the current moment. Click here to re-experience a NASA moment, when a spacecraft with camera was exiting the solar system and the camera was turned back for one last look at Earth across the incomprehensible expanse of space. Enjoy, and be inspired!
Kathlyn
