Sunday, January 9, 2022

Webb Musings: Will We Kill the Messenger?

I read today about this South American saying: To be human one must make room in ones heart for the wonders of the universe.” This is a common thread among religions and indigenous cultures. 

We are, mostly, far as I know, human. How do we make room in our hearts (let alone our minds) for an appreciation of the wonders that are out there? 

Personally, I am a sucker for a sunrise or sunset. Geese flying in formation about do me in. But those are just examples of what my eyes can perceive. What about all the wondrous things we have not seen with our own eyes?
 

History exposes our reluctance, strike that - violent resistance, to new data that threatens to shake up the status quo. We have tended to kill the messenger. Will we accept information that comes from a sophisticated scientific instrument, albeit one that has been in the works for decades and developed together by humans from around the planet? (How much wonder is in that?) 

What of all that the Webb telescope will show us? Are our hearts prepared for that? How will that change our ideas about our cosmos, world, ourselves? While we’re pondering all of this, what of the wonders all around us, nearer to the ground? How will our hearts be changed by discoveries to come? Can we really prepare for that?

With no limits, what do you dream will be revealed by the Webb Telescope?

 Jesus said, So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”

~~John 20:29 (From Eugene Peterson's The Message)

Here is a gentle yoga practice to help us center and gracefully reach up and turn our gazes skyward. 

May we see with clarity the truth of our past and future potential, and the beauty right in front of us.

Namaste,
Connie

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