NASA-2014 Hubble image showing hundreds of galaxies,
An avid star gazer and space nerd, I find it fascinating that NASA is on a mission to look deep into space to get a glimpse of that moment in time when our universe was born. They say we’re not far from looking at that very spot that marks the beginning of our universe! It fascinates me that the farther we look into space, the more we look into the past and closer to the beginning.
My love for star gazing began as a child when my father helped me identify well known constellations and asterisms in the sky. These soon became “pointers” that helped me find other stars and constellations. This quickly expanded into hours of gazing at the night skies through binoculars which rapidly expanded my repertoire of stars of various magnitudes and colors, binary stars and star clusters within the spiral bands of our very own Milky Way galaxy. And more recently, I’ve looking at other galaxies and deep space wonders!
I’m always awestruck when I see something for the very first time, especially when it eludes me at first. I will always remember that clear Spring night I spotted the Sombrero galaxy for the first time. I could not look away, even for a second! Or the first time I saw new born stars in Orion’s nebula. Or Jupiter’s largest moons. Or Saturn’s rings. And as the list grows, I realize more and more that I will never ever be able to see it all, even if I lived a million lifetimes!
I try to wrap may head around the multiple wonders that populate this vast space–our sun and it’s planets and their moons; other suns, many of them super giants that would blot out our entire solar system; colorful nebulae where new starts are birthed; swirling galaxies that dwarf our own, etc…
The mechanics of how everything is held together in place (“dark matter,” gravity, etc.) and how everything works together, dancing a cosmic dance that is both perfect and beautiful, is a study in itself. I see perfect order. Perfect craftsmanship.
It never ceases to amaze me just how far away into space and time I’m looking, at wonders so far away that my brain cannot fully comprehend just how far away. For example, the galaxy closest to us is 2.5 million light years away. Needless to say we’ll never get there.
And the never-ending, vastness of space is mind boggling. Not only is our universe hard to quantify, we simply don’t know just how many universes there are like our own.
It makes me feel oh. so. very. small.
And it speaks to me. It says many different things to me. It makes me ask question upon question. It makes me ponder.
One of the things it says to me is that the mastermind behind all this has got to bigger than all of it. Infinitely bigger. And grander. And unfathomable. The details point to superior intelligence and creativity.
It brings up, among other things, the question of my origin. How did I get here? Where did I come from? And why am I here?
What we believe about our origins definitely impacts the way we understand ourselves, others and the world around us. It impacts the way we live our lives today and shapes our future. It influences the choices we make. It directs our decisions making.
If I am ambivalent about my origin, I may live an ambivalent life without caring deeply about how I live it.
If I think I’m a product of chance, an accident; life may not hold much meaning, purpose or direction for me. And I may question if I am worth anything; if my life is worth anything.
If I am not sure of my origin, I may live in a state of confusion, not prepared to commit to anything.
If I believe that I’m a created being, created by an intelligent Creator, that opens the door to more questions and possibilities–
What was I created for? What was I designed for? Why am I here? How am I supposed to live?
Gazing at the stars, I long to fully discover and understand all that my Creator had in mind when He designed and created me. I am reminded that we are all created from the same essence, cut from the same cloth, made in God’s image. And even though all the evil in our world taints, twists and distorts that perfect image, we are left with plenty that points us back to our origins.
How then should we live? The stars beckon us to ask, to search, to discover. Paradise lost can be paradise regained.
~shini abraham, 2018 © duco divina – contemplative doodling
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