For every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."
"That's all we've got"
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Marilyn:
I could listen to that over and over. I love Carl.
Peace to you and yours.
In all the vastness there is just us... We view the world as a vast place, full of strangers... countless nameless faceless strangers...
But we are all we have. Each other. Every one is important. Every one matters.
Let us work for Peace.
Thank you for participating in the BlogBlast For PEACE!
Wonderful Words...
VinnyBond
9 comments:
If more people would find that context, I think we'd have more peace in the world.
Peace to you and yours.
Thank You Travis of Trav's Thoughts for your insightfulness. I truly do believe that it is only this one dot with this one thought, one goal: Peace and that is all that will and can ever save Earth.
Your War Timeline is a brilliant stroke. The urge to war and the quest for peace are as endless as the universe. It's our turn to hold the light up to the darkness.
Peace to you, Jeane.
Hello Julia Smith, Thank You for your kind words and enlightenment. I think it was Agatha Christie who said, "One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one" and Dorothy Thompson who said, "Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence".
So yes indeed, it is society as a whole whom must now, as you said; take its "turn to hold the light up to the darkness".
You have chosen a very thoughtful presentation for the Blog Blast for Peace. I think that perspective is something that we should never lose sight of. Peace to you and yours.
Thank You very much Karen Jo. May Peace adorn you and yours with moments of treasured tranquility.
I am looking forward to reading your blog, "limericks about the blogging cats (and their friends)"!
Excellent, just excellent!
I have to say this is one of my favorite posts in this year's BlogBlast for Peace...
Thank you!
Hello Sanni of Sanni's Project Dona Nobis Pacem. What a high compliment for such a great cause; I am honored yet humble in thankfulness for Carl Sagan's intellect to articulate the emphasis of "The Pale Blue Dot" called Earth on which all humanity resides.
May the Peace we as a society seek inwardly - reflect outwardly in our actions and reactions toward the greater good for all HumanKind. Giving us the peace we all truly desire in ending all chaos including the War Timeline.
Dona Nobis Pacem!
Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if
that would be okay. I'm absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward
to new updates.
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