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Sunday, April 15, 2018

A TO Z _ Bathing in MYSTERY and WEP post


 

"We are bathing in mystery and confusion 
on many subjects, 
and I think that 
will always be our destiny. 
The universe will always 
be much richer 
than our ability to understand it.” 
- Carl Sagan

Ghost of Carl Sagan here

We are an infinitesimal part of the universe becoming aware of itself.

The "me" that you and I are took 13.7 billion years to develop ... 

as science now believes.

Yet, science, like time and space, is fluid ... 

so who knows what science will believe next decade or next century?

We are an indication of what hydrogen atoms can do, of how to co-exist with the unknown.

The quest for answers of how to do so birthed folklore, myth, and superstition.

We seem to be always on the verge of finding answers to how we came  to be.

But like the horizon, 

those answers always tease us by being just out of reach eternally.

But that quest has taken us so far and will take us farther if only we find the courage to continue.


That first photo of the earth taken from the moon ...

firstly, it gave us the sense that we are afloat in the vast sea of space

and second, the realization that the future of this tiny world depends solely upon us.


We must cut off the moorings to common sense to get farther.

We navigate the world by our common-sense perception, 

but that perception has blinded us to reality again and again. 

We have mistaken our sensorial intuitions for facts of the universe.

 For millennia, we held wrong beliefs about Earth’s shape, motion, and position, 

because it feels flat and static beneath our feet, and central to the order of the cosmos. 

We have mistrusted processes and phenomena 

beyond the boundaries of what we can touch and feel with our limited senses.

From the development of life, 

which unfolds on scales of time too vast to be visible within a human lifetime, 

to quantum mechanics, 

which operates on subatomic scales imperceptible and almost inconceivable to the human observer.


 We have to be very careful not to impose our hopes and desires on the cosmos,

 but instead, in the scientific tradition and with the most open mind possible,

 see what the cosmos is saying to us.

And that means trusting our curiosity to ask WHAT IF? 

as often as possible and being brave enough to follow where that question leads. 



31 comments:

  1. Imposing our hopes and desires on the cosmos is doomed to failure. The cosmos is so much bigger than we are, and its agenda and ours may well be very different.
    A truly thought provoking trajectory down this untravelled road. Thank you.

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    1. That means a lot coming from you, Elephant's Child. :-)

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  2. Seeing the earth from space just proves what a miracle this world is. We'll never know the answers in our lifetime. We wouldn't understand if we did.

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    1. Hard to imagine a finite mind understanding an infinite universe, right?

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  3. Hi Roland - we need to learn to exist here in a better way - looking after nature, ourselves and thinking properly and sensibly, making sure we encompass all - then our little earth will live on ... but moving out of here - that will take some Roads Less Travelled ...

    Interesting post - enjoyed it ... cheers Hilary

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    1. I apologize for not visiting you as I should -- so little free time due to my crazy job. Love seeing you here. :-)

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  4. If only enlightenment could be generated through a picture. Many don't even have the ability to question or a mind open enough for contemplation.
    Great post, Roland, very thought provoking!

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    1. Thank you so much, Yolanda. An open mind is hard to find these ... or keep! :-)

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  5. Yes, beliefs about the earth and our universe have changed over time, but our core beliefs have often remained the same.
    Interesting post, as always, Roland.

    Denise

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    1. I try to be different and interesting. Thanks for visiting and commenting. It means a lot.

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  6. So we must follow our own road and
    Not just tagging along causing us strife
    Until we become one of the lemming
    In this race to our death not life

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    1. I prefer to think of merging back into the star dust from which we were made. :-)

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  7. The universe doesn't need us, we need the universe, and it can't and won't be imposed upon, irrespective of what our beliefs are. Unless we keep an open mind and learn to take the needs of the world into account, we might not have one to think about or live on.

    An interesting and unique take on the prompt.

    All the very best,
    Nilanjana.

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    1. As my mother used to say: we should respect nature, for it has none for us! :-)

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  8. Hi, Roland,

    Surprise! I know it's been ages, but I have just not blogged in a long time. Trying to catch up and reenlist in our little community. Finally writing again. It's been over three years since I worked on something new. Unlike you! My word....you have been a busy man writing away the hours and producing so many books.

    This is truly a thought provoking post. WE ALL NEED to step back and think a moment on what we are doing to our planet and how the other life forms in the universe perceive us. They must be laughing their heads off....the way we scurry around like ants with our so called "busy" lives which pretty much amount to very little in the grand scheme of things. But it is our HEARTS that is in our core, and we MUST listen to them because they will lead us to a much better existence. The mind, although truly accomplished, knows squat next to our hearts.

    I hope all is well with you! I honestly think of you often. No one makes us think more than you, my friend.

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    1. I hope all is good with you as well. Best of luck with your new writing. I have a new audiobook in the works, Michael. Wish me luck. :-)

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  9. What if is one of the world's best questions!

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    1. "What If" has sparked some of science's greatest discoveries, Tyrean -- and gotten me into no end of personal trouble!! :-)

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  10. Fascinating read...I will be reading it a couple more times. So many nuances, so much to think about.

    Donna B. McNicol|Author and Traveler
    A to Z Flash Fiction Stories | A to Z of Goldendoodles

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  11. The what ifs sure are the way to go. Science is ever changing. When we pin ourselves to one belief or so-called fact above all us, we never get anywhere.

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  12. Pat, when I read what science believed to be true just 100 years ago, I wonder just how off the mark modern science is in certain areas! :-)

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  13. We have much to learn and I hope man and woman will survive to continue to learn.

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    1. I don't think Man will last as long as the dinosaurs sadly. :-(

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  14. I do like Carl Sagan, another great mind gone from us, like Stephen Hawking now. I hope we have learned something from what they have said. Liked this Roland, and good luck with the A to Z.

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    1. Hopefully, at least to think outside expected parameters, right? :-) It's hard this year to keep up. Tomorrow's post will probably cost me more followers, but I wrote my heart on that one.

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  15. I like:
    We navigate the world by our common-sense perception,
    but that perception has blinded us to reality again and again.

    We have become a deluded group of people living on a planet that we are destroying. When will we realize that?
    Shaloma aleichem,
    Patricia

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    1. We are often unintentionally self-blinded. Sigh. May your days be filled with healing and peace. :-)

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  16. My goodness what a thought-provoking piece! We live in an exciting time where advanced technology is enabling us to learn more about ourselves as human-kind, and the many possibilites of where we camae from...it almost blows my mind.

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    1. Each day brings me new articles of amazing wonders just discovered. It does boggle my mind! Thanks for visiting and commenting, Carrie. :-)

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  17. Fantastic. Really well written. I love what you did with the prompt there.

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