This Pale Blue Dot

The stillness and quiet of an early morning home persuaded me to leave the comfort of my cozy bed. In this comfortable state of quiet consideration I remembered that my daughter had wanted to attend the church service of a friend who will be leaving for a two-year missionary assignment this Wednesday. Unfortunately, she was feeling under the weather and opted to stay home and recover. But my son and other daughter both wanted to attend, and we did. The result of this choice is by the end of the afternoon we had attended two worship services and I felt spiritually renewed and energized by the insights and inspiration shared by word, music and deed.

As a family we limit our Sunday activities and strive to focus our thoughts on a spiritual plane. There were three events that competed with this sacred desire. The French Open, The Tony Awards, and the final episode of Cosmos. Unbelievably, I had completely forgotten that Rafael Nadal was playing for, and ultimately won his 9th championship at Roland Garros. Had I remembered I would have been watching tennis instead of attending church services. The Tony Awards and Cosmos were essentially at the same time. But this decision required more than channel bouncing as we wanted to attend the Cosmos episode being broadcast at our local planetarium.

Even though we like Hugh Jackman, we opted for Cosmos and we were again richly blessed. Five panelist discussed their views since the original Carl Sagan Cosmos and discussed their current work and the direction of scientific, especially astronomic, research. Their commentaries suggest a rich field of inquiry waiting for discoveries to provide insight on significant questions to help explain our place in this universe. Their scientific quests promise to provide continually improving understanding of the processes that allowed us to get where we are by, perhaps, explaining dark matter and dark energy. I wish them, and all of us, good luck on their journey.

Along this quest for answers, we might consider again the meaning of this pale blue dot that we inhabit. For while we now know that we reside far from the center of our own galaxy, not to mention the known universe, this physical location suggests nothing about the significance of our existence. The fact that we live on a small planet in a vast universe does not require a conclusion that we lack value, nor does it compel a conclusion that we are supernally important. The pale blue dot embodies an apparent paradox of humble greatness. It would seem that because we are small compared to the vastness of the Cosmos that our value must be small. But our self-awareness and expanding understanding suggests that we are great. When

Both my faith and science traditions help to reconcile this apparent contradiction. Whether I am praying to God, reading scriptures or scientific texts I sense that true greatness comes not in knowing who we are but rather imagining who we might become.