Wednesday, May 10, 2017

We Are Here


Turn up the sound, switch to full screen. This is live feed from orbit. Watch Earth move.

The search for a closed scheme
That provides a  complete  and 
Self-consistent  explanation  is
Full  of  flaws --in itself, an
Incomplete statement, consider:
Conscious beings -- universe
Generated  self-awareness,  no 
Minor by-product of mindless
Forces,  no  trivial  detail --no.
We are truly meant to be here.
And yet, it is we who invented
Meaning  --good  thing  too!

16 comments:

  1. You make great points Geo.

    We invented meaning... What a thing is. Then we invented distance and time. This further went to quantity and cost, and to other things that we could derive from these. For example, speed of something is just a matter of the distance covered by it over time.

    At the same time we also had absolutely no role to play in the creation and the constant changes of the universe. It is, unto itself, bigger a project at both scale and variation that we could ever undertake.

    Don't take this seriously... I was just trying to summarise what you wrote, and have been thoroughly entertained, informed and amazed!

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    1. Excellent and thought-provoking comment,KK. It would appear that mind and matter are two ways of organizing events in reality.

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  2. All those contradictions and agreements. No wonder we are so confused.

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    1. Dear Emma, I suspect much of our confusion stems from --well, now I've confused myself, but believe we're not quite up to processing all possibilities, even those that are contradictory, in this immense universe.

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  3. Amazing live feed from the space station - thank you so much for this. It must change a person forever to be able to go into space and see the Earth like this with one's own eyes. And we get a good idea of it through the camera.

    It certainly makes the mind go spinning off in different directions ... including the one you took! Nicely done.

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    1. Jenny, your comment reminds me of the astronaut, Edgar Mitchell, who said,"On the return trip home, gazing through 240,000 miles of space toward the stars and the planet from which I had come, I suddenly experienced the universe as intelligent, loving, harmonious.”

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    2. Yes! It was along those lines that my thoughts had gone. From such a distance, what mankind plans and thinks and does is of such little concern. We so often fail to see that when we are on the ground. That is a grand quote.

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    3. O_Jenny, after leaving NASA Dr. Mitchell worked tirelessly, to further research on Zero Point Energy --the lowest possible force in a quantum mechanical system-- to stave off global warming. He also advocated a World Parliament to seek peace and represent Earth among inhabited planets. I believe his passing last year was the last of the Apollo 14 crew. A grand quote indeed.

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  4. Wow! The comments here are simply wonderful Geo. I could only think that the intellect of those around us can be simply astounding. Thank you for the poetry and the live feed from NASA. Both are amazing. I particularly liked:

    "And yet, it is we who invented
    Meaning --good thing too!"

    Living is simply not enough if we do not bring some meaning to that life. Without it we are simply pond scum!

    b+

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    1. Thanks, Barbara. As the universe is a system in which all possibilities are assembled, the conclusion that it creates its own observers --us and all life forms--is inescapable. Meaning obtains when we get things right.

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  5. What a nice treat. Live feed looking at the Earth from up above seems like a childhood dream come true. Your caption adds that delicate touch that explains our rational mind that yes this is a dream come true and it is because of people who love to seek and search.

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    1. Most kind Munir, when humans began exploring outer space in both machines and mind, the childhood dreams we dreamed became so exciting --a unifying endeavor.

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  6. I've never seen such a beautiful perspective of the earth. It's fascinating.
    The way you end/don't end lines in your poetry is evocative too. I enjoy it with each re-read. Thank you.

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    1. It is a beautiful planet, Robyn, probably the prettiest one in the whole world. Thanks for your encouraging comment. I need those.

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