The World

In the scheme of the Cosmos, our world is as ephemeral as a bubble.

Celebrate our world's existence . . .

Wallace — The World — April 1921

Cosmic Voyager

While we're in Neptune's domain, let's brave the swells of the briny deep and gaze in wonder at this cosmic voyager.

Ferdynand Ruszczyc — Nec Mergitur — 1905

The Cosmic Force

Illustrating an article entitled The Cosmic Force ("Is there a single glue that binds everything in the universe, from galaxies to gardens? Physicists say yes."), this photo illustration looks simple enough to create, yes? Yet, this was created four years before Photoshop was even a twinkle in Thomas Knoll's programming code.

Michel Tcherevkoff — The Cosmic Force — Science Digest 1983

Cosmic Endeavors

There has been a huge resurgence of interest in a post of mine from April of 2009. And that is this photograph of astronaut Anna Fisher, shown above. I've had a number of emails over all this time asking about the photo and where it was published. And lately someone has been zealous in wanting to secure the rights to print a poster of it for their wall, which has caused a flutter of tweets and twitters and an avalanche of downloads from this site.

Well, even though a lot of people received the information from me via email, just to set the record straight for the source, for those who don't know—this photo is from Life Magazine, May of 1985, credited to Bryson/Sygma, as part of a pictorial celebrating heroines of the eighties, including Mary Lou Retton and Geraldine Ferraro.

But it is this photo that captured our imagination as a sort of rebirth of Kennedy's New Frontier idealism of reaching for the stars. It is obvious that this photo is not an official record from a mission, as astronauts would have had to wear their skullcaps inside the helmet. But it's the wispy sweep of hair that we glimpse and the innocent vulnerable expression that arrests us, reaffirming the human qualities that are at stake in our cosmic endeavors. Indeed Anna Fisher was returning from nine days in space to greet her baby daughter with kisses.

A truly lovely photograph.

Reason for Our Existence

When I am facing life and death mysteries and searching for meaning, I look to the infinite nature of the universe for comfort. I am in awe, yet never feel overwhelmed, thinking of the vastness of existence—time and space in all directions. I feel connected, no matter how tiny my presence. 

There is reason for our existence and part of the spectrum of that reason is love and beauty, in their purest essence and many varieties.

Thank you to all I have heard from, in comments and emails. Blessings to everyone, as we each go through the same passages of life and death.

A lovely graphic from Light of Consciousness, Journal of Spiritual Awakening

We are the Universe

Incredible, outrageous, mind-blowing, phantastic images are delivered to your inbox every few days at:

http://hubblesite.org/

We are the Universe, contemplating itself.