There is nothing like a short course in astronomy to put things into perspective. All human activity in the course of human history, apart from several short forays by a select few just outside of the earth’s upper atmosphere, has taken place on this tiny planet in a small corner of our galaxy, amidst billions of other solar systems. Our study of the earth and its environs have yielded tremendous advances in human understanding, particularly in the last five centuries.
Physicist Brian Cox, professor at the University of Manchester, also works on the large hadron collider project at CERN (http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/lhc/lhc-en.html). His presentation at TEDSalon 2010 called “Why we need the explorers” caught my interest and it is my pleasure to share it with you this morning.
No matter what you believe about the beginnings of our universe, our solar system and our planet, it is quite evident that man’s pursuit of knowledge is a great balancing act. Without sufficient moral fiber, the discoveries made along the way risk becoming like matches in the hands of children. Considering the pace of exploration by the world’s great professional and amateur scientists, I feel that we must endeavor to reinforce with great haste the traces of nobility, gentleness and courage that remain in all people so that there is a balancing factor in the equation.
What say you?
Gregory Hake 
Hello, Selena recommended your blog. Thank you very much
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You’re welcome. Enjoy!
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The question that has arose in my heart today, is “How large a world are we willing to live in?” So often in my personal experience the perspective of largeness, shrinks to nil as a result of something so small which, following examination, didn’t even exist at ALL! Maintaining Largeness of Vision is something I re-dedicate myself today as this is necessary in the process of maintaining balance.
Thank-you Gregg for this.
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breathtaking!….puts a lot in perspective.
And when you examine our individual roles in the grand scheme of things, seems like one of the simple things we could do is practice unconditional forgiveness, as was shown in Amish Grace – my heart is still touched deeply by that film and the Amish way!
These 2 posts have left a mark on my heart.
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I feel like the “blue dot” picture of earth shown in the video is a great starting place to rediscover the attributes of nobility, gentleness, and courage that you describe. Do we really think we are more important than the balance of the universe? Looking at ourselves with the humility of distance, we can see that there is no room on Earth for anything but these three traits and their equals.
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Well said! The governing factor has to be individuals taking personal responsibility. I think of of us each as a heavenly body emitting a harmonious signal or dissonant one. It is our choice. This can seem so complex to wrap my head around but then I realize all I completely control in this entire scheme of things is what originates in my heart. The superheros are not coming to save this Earth, that is the job of humanity. It seems to me all we have to do is make sure we take responsibility to completely live this perfectly good life we were given.
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