I was a teenager when Neil Armstrong did the first moonwalk. Having been fascinated by the space race during my youth in the 1960’s, I have been following the Artemis II moon fly-by this month. The photos of the moon’s surface are interesting, but somewhat monotonous. Aside from size and shape, craters pretty much all look alike. More thought-provoking to me are the photos of our planet earth.
How beautifully peaceful the world looks from a few hundred thousand miles away. One would never imagine what goes on down here on the surface. Wars, fighting, political turmoil, bullying, hate and all kinds of violence are shrouded in the marbled beauty visible from far away.
While the moon may seem distant to us, our entire solar system appears microscopic in the immensity of the universe. Imagine our sun being viewed by aliens a few lightyears away. It might appear as a dimly lit star with our earth imperceptible. They might view us earthlings as we view bacteria. How insignificant might our lives seem in comparison.
If our civilization learned to appreciate how tiny and fragile we are, would the turmoil of this world cease? The desire for power and domination seems pointless considering the brief time we have to spend here. What is this power so many people crave? Worldly power is short-lived and meaningless.
Most of us Americans are blessed to live our brief lives in peace and comfort. Rather than appreciate what we have, we often choose to wallow in self-pity. I have been following the YouTube adventures of two sisters who survived a harrowing escape from their hellish lives in North Korea by crossing the Tumen River into China. They settled in South Korea and are now touring the United States experiencing freedom previously unknown to them under the Kim regime. How fortunate we are to live in this country despite its many flaws. We should all spend less time complaining and humbly thank God for what we have.
