Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Expand Your Mind Into The Cosmos

"The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be" - Carl Sagan

The universe is something that has always fascinated me, ever since I was a child I’ve eaten up information like a black hole (sorry, I won’t do that again). Not only is the cosmos full of interesting concepts to learn about, it’s also a good way to expand your mind and lose your sense of importance. This might seem like a bad thing to “lose your sense of importance”, it might even seem counterproductive in terms of keeping yourself alive if you look into it that deeply. But it isn’t, next time you’re outside at night (preferably alone) – stop. Look up at the sky, focus on the clear black and look at the stars. Each stars in bigger than we can possibly imagine yet appears to be as tiny as a grain of sand. These stars are many light years away from us, and each star is many light years away from all other stars. It’s a humbling thought, that we’re just one of 8 planets orbiting around a grain of sand.

Whenever I look up at the sky and stare at the stars and the moon it’s a therapeutic experience, I often lose my feelings of importance, that the stresses of work and home mean nothing – I gain a new perspective.

Here is the late Carl Sagan putting it in perspective:


- Dogman

3 comments:

  1. Fuck I love this article, it's inspiring

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  2. Can I confess that what you have just described about looking at the stars as a therapeutic experience, and doing so removes any worries or stresses is something I love doing. Every day when I'm walking home from the train station, just as I walk into the house I gaze at the stars and moon and nothing else matters - I realise just how small we are, and instantly my life improves. That's so awesome you have been doing the same thing.

    On a side note, I think people take the night sky for granted; I mean bloody hell people, the moon (THE MOON!) is right there! It is available for our viewing pleasure every night. It always makes me think of that shot in Star Wars, when you can see two planets in the night sky. If we were suddenly able to see a red and blue planet from Earth tomorrow, it would be the coolest thing since sliced bread. But as we all know that won't happen. Take what you have and appreciate it. There is a moon that we can see with the naked eye, and it is one reminder that we are living amongst the unknown.

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  3. Nice Russ, the Moon! I was driving home not long ago, I looked out my window and could see a perfect view of the Blue Mountains. Before the Blue Mountains was a flat plain with the suburban lights, but hanging just above the horizon was the Moon. It was an more of an orange colour than the regular silver, which made the view look more incredible.

    Moon ftw.

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