Originally posted on Facebook HERE
It is estimated that there are roughly 200 billion galaxies in our Universe. We really don’t know if there is more than one universe yet – by definition, the universe is all of space and time and their contents, so… not sure how there could be more than one, but… I took Gizmo out last night and looked up at the moon. It was beautiful. And I thought about when we actually sent human beings up there and got them back to earth safely. That’s insane to me. How we ever developed the technology to pull that off is incredible. Someone had to dream of doing it and get others on board who actually figured it all out – way back then. Before cell phones, or the internet, or cable TV… we sent people to the moon. I have no interest in making that trip myself, the people who did it, well – imagine what that felt like. We’re an incredible species when we work together. And yet, we also use our power to do great harm to each other as well. Man’s inhumanity to man is well documented throughout history. Really horrible stuff. War in any format – country vs country, gang vs gang, whatever… when anger and hatred take hold of our minds and we see an enemy, whatever or whoever that is, as less than human, the levels we can sink to are atrocious. It’s why I like to be involved in creative activities. Playing music, writing, speaking, teaching… these are ways to fill my time with love. To me, life’s too short to spend it pissed off about things beyond my control. We all have setbacks, we all have to deal with something that will stomp on the anger button within us… it’s a part of life. But we don’t have to let it define us. It’s a crazy ride we’re on. Our galaxy is the Milky Way. One of 200 billion in our universe that we know of… think there might be other forms of intelligent life elsewhere? Sometimes I wonder how intelligent life is on this planet. My hope is there are more advanced societies out there somewhere. But here on earth… we have a limited amount of materials to work with, and everything gets recycled somehow… millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the earth. Millions of years from now, will humans still be here?… who knows? So, here we are – little specks in the history of time and space – getting upset about things when every moment is a gift. We have so few of them. Every second we get with our families, our pets, our lives – a gift. Are we grateful for this gift? Because it seems like there’s a lot of unhappy people out there. We’re amazing when we work together, but that isn’t as easy as it sounds because everyone is different. No two people agree on everything. Eventually you’ll find something to disagree upon. Or something in someone’s past you don’t like. Or they’ll do or say something that hits your anger button. I’ve been way up in life, I’ve been way down. I know the feeling of unconditional love. I know anger and hatred altogether too well, too. The older I get, the easier it gets to let it slide, or move on from people I don’t want or need in my life if they’re just sources of angst for me. Life is too short to spend it in that way, when we have so many things we can do to be creative and loving. Find ways to enjoy every moment. Expand your heart. Live with passion. Give every second of your life the importance it deserves, and find ways to forgive when necessary. A life lived in gratitude is a well lived life.
