“Look 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.
... To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
― "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space" — Carl Sagan
The astronomer Carl Sagan contemplated the universe with reverence and awe. We inhabit this planet, this blue dot called Earth, for better or worse. We are golden specks of dust capable of joy, suffering and love. What amazes me as I listen to this recording of Sagan reading this passage are the words, that this earth, this blue planet, is also home to "every human being who ever was..."
Sagan is saying that even those we love who have died, are still part of this earth. In many ways this is true.
Think of those people who you have ever loved. Are they not still a part of your thought and being?
I remember a girl who was killed in an automobile accident when I was in college. She was a friend from secondary school. I still remember her all these years later and she is a part of this dot. It is comforting to listen to Carl Sagan and the song below. Love brings out the best in our society. Remembering those we love and cherish is helped by words and music and helps dry the tears.
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