Salem, Oregon, August 21, 2017
Thank you, Ganesh!
The first total eclipse across the U.S. in 38 years, millions traveled to witness the totality on August 21st. Many were caught off guard, unprepared for its emotional impact. The Sun, Moon, Earth and Sky, so ordinary and familiar, authored and delivered a profound message that unexpectedly pierced hearts.
Our daughter and her husband flew from San Francisco to Portland to meet friends and drive to a farm in Salem, Oregon for the event. Like many others, indescribable feelings emerged as the mid-day twilight approached and night fell. "Dad, I was teary-eyed. I didn't expect that. The stars came out, the animals got quiet, and crickets and bullfrogs woke up and began to sing." It was an orchestration at a cosmic scale across 93 million miles.
It's easy to forget how truly amazing life is. And by "life," I mean the totality of all that is; our place in it; how we came to be part of it; and how we move through it. From our birth to our passing, it's easy to take the most miraculous things and aspects of our life for granted as they become familiar. This is true not only of our natural environment, but for the people in our lives as well. This incredible eclipse served as a reminder that our sun and moon don't simply hang in the sky. They are in a dance perfectly choreographed to support Earth, teeming with life. And so it is with our lives. The steps are perfect, even when it doesn't feel like it.
This truth isn't ours alone. It extends throughout the Universe. The images the Hubble telescope has gathered over the past two and a half decades paints this perspective on the canvas of the night sky. This inky black void with pinpricks of light, so familiar and apparently static, is anything but. The Hubble images indisputably show how we perceive so little of what surrounds us. What we are truly part of. What, if only we could grasp it, would put all of our fears to rest and allow us to live fearlessly and love unconditionally in the knowledge of our true essence. I have drawn so much inspiration from these awe-inspiring images over the years that I decided to produce the following video. My wish is that you, too, will draw some inspiration from this brief journey into deep space.
This is my original composition (video and music) for BeYourSelfBlog.com. Fullscreen viewing with headphones is recommended. The awe-inspiring Hubble telescope images are courtesy of spacetelescope.org.
My message has been evolving since BeYourselfBlog's launch nearly two years ago, but its essence remains the same. We are, all of us, magnificent beings that are part of an immense and beautiful tapestry of life. We arrive here from infinite, unconditional love, and we return to infinite, unconditional love. In-between, we are meant to live our lives to the fullest. To express who we are in all we do, living our truth and being ourselves. Trading fear for curiosity and gratitude is key to living fearlessly and embarking on the adventure to be who we were born to be. This is the purest form of love we can express to ourselves. It is the highest regard we can have for the gift that is our life. For in the end, we are indestructible. Every single atom in your body was once an atom in a star, and each and every one will eventually return to one. It's the way of it. We are born of stars. And we will return to stars.