The Earth As a Stage
Some people have a perspective about our home planet that transcends simply being an inhabitant on it.
Some people have successfully unchained themselves from Earth’s atmosphere and traveled beyond it’s life giving boundaries into the uncharted territory of space.
Some people have had the privilege of looking back at the earth from space, the way their fellow inhabitants can only stand on it, safely tethered in the arms of gravity, gazing up at the moon and stars…wondering.
Such people often have informed opinions about our planet that we would do well to consider.
One of these people, NASA Astronaut and venerated space explorer Jim Lovell shared some important thoughts during a recent episode of the PBS show “Museum Access” filmed at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.
When asked what it was like the first time he saw the earth from space, he explained how he was able to place his thumb against the window and block out the view of the earth, home to six billion people who were all striving for the same things.
This was a powerful metaphor for me, that one man could obliterate the view of the planet that is the only known home to man, six billion humans, using just his thumb.
It spoke to me of the power of mankind–how terrible it can be in it’s destructive power, how incredible it can be when used constructively, as it was in the space program.
To me, NASA represents some of the best collaborative efforts and finest achievements of mankind.
Mr. Lovell went on to say that we hear the story that people tell of how they hope to get to heaven when they die. He believes that we get to heaven when we are born.
We are born onto a planet with the correct atmosphere, the correct gravitational pull, the correct distance from the sun, the correct elements, to support life.
Heaven indeed.
Jim Lovell’s final thoughts on Earth were the most revealing, inspirational, and to me, somewhat distressing thoughts he shared.
Everything we need has been given to us…right here on Earth.
The earth is like a stage God has set for us.
It’s up to us how things play out. 
*Photos courtesy of pexels: pexels-photo-220201.jpeg; flight-sky-earth-space.jpeg; cold front-warm front- hurricane-felix-76969.jpeg
©2018 by Ilona Elliott
The Author (on the right)
Share this:
- Posted in: Environmental issues ♦ Uncategorized
- Tagged: Earth, Jim Lovell, NASA, Planet Earth, Space Exploration
Rainy Day Writing 
I whole heartedly have to agree with that.. sadly, we are making a mess of it.. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m afraid we don’t appreciate what we’ve go til it’s gone, as Ms. Mitchell so aptly told us.
LikeLike
Food for thought and discussion
LikeLiked by 1 person
The longer I live and the more I learn about the earth and it’s systems, the more convinced I am that this is so. We are the wrench in the equation.
LikeLike
Lovely images. But a sad sort of expectation. That man will somehow save himself from his own failings
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess you have to recognize your own failings before you can try to rectify them, and there in lies the problem.
LikeLiked by 1 person