10 - Space

NASA

I’m almost as mystified by the lack of people interested in space, as I am by the vastness and dark beauty of actual space.

On one hand, though - I get it.

People are more concerned about their relationships, their responsibilities, and their livelihoods. Now more than ever, for obvious reasons.

As well, we don’t really have much of a connection to space in a physical sense. We’re not astronauts, we’re not traveling to different planets, and even if we could travel to different planets, we haven’t found intelligent life on any of the ones in our solar system, so they wouldn’t make for very entertaining visits (as far as we know).

On the other hand, though - it’s fucking space!

Comets, supernovas, black holes, nebulas, and galaxies that are far, far away. All housed inside an ever-expanding vacuum.

Doesn’t that pump you up? And more so, to know that we’re made from the same stuff as stars? Yes; we’re actual stardust.

It saddens me deeply that we’ve created an existence on this planet that focuses on exchanging labor for necessities. Having to work a job you hate just so you can eat and have a roof over your head - as opposed to a life without monetary constraints - one where we’re able to live freely and spend our days exploring the natural environment of this planet, as well as the other ones in our orbit.

How advanced would we be right now as a species, if securing basic necessities weren’t an issue. Where we were all promised food, clothing, shelter, and other material products to entertain us, leaving us free to follow whatever passions we might have.

An equal playing field for the scientifically curious, as opposed to today’s reality where only those fortunate enough to have the time and money for higher education can contribute to scientific and technological advancements.

Depressing realities aside though, I think all of us, as a species, should take a more active interest in our natural world, and space at large.

Marvel at the sheer size, scope, and mysteries of the heavens above. Appreciate the wonders of the universe, like how it rains diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn, or the fact that Mars has a volcano (Olympus Mons) that’s more than twice Mount Everest’s height above sea level, or that intelligent life almost certainly does exist elsewhere in our galaxy, and we get closer to finding it with every passing day.

I know there’s a lot going on in the world right now, and I realize we can’t all share the same childlike enthusiasm as Neil deGrasse Tyson or astrophysicists in general - but I also think humbling ourselves and getting a better sense of just how truly small we are in the grand scheme of things would help give us a more rational perspective as we moved through life.

How can you sweat the small stuff when you realize you’re just a speck in the galaxy? A speck among other specks so great in numbers you can’t pronounce it, because the name for a number that big hasn’t been invented yet. While at the same time, appreciating that while we’re just mere specks here for a limited time - we can discover more about the universe we inhabit than any other specks before us.