The single greatest invention in the
history of the world is the Hubble telescope. Since 1990, Hubble has taken over
a million pictures of space that have absolutely revolutionized our knowledge
of the universe. Before Hubble, scientists believed that the Milky Way was our
entire universe. Now we know that the Milky Way, with its 100 billion stars, is
only one of ten trillion galaxies. That calculates to around
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1 x 24 zeros) stars in the universe, many likely
to have planetary systems capable of sustaining life forms. Hubble has also
told us that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, which makes our life span
on Earth but a tiny blip in time. How small we all are—and how humble we should
all be.
Meanwhile, newspapers, television,
and social media tell us that we should be concerned with transgender rights,
collusion with Russia, and the mental fitness of our President. We are told to take
sides on global warming, genetically modified foods, medical marijuana, and
off-shore drilling. We’re led to believe that life is all about sports championships,
Golden Globe awards, and the consequence of elections, not to mention the
economy, health care, illegal immigration, natural disasters, nuclear weapons,
and terrorist massacres.
How insignificant all of these
matters become when measured against the universe brought to us by Hubble. Without
getting too philosophical about this, we can begin to appreciate why hermits,
ascetics, and monks throughout the ages have chosen a life of contemplation and
meditation rather than social engagement. I’m not suggesting we should all head
for the nearest monastery. But perhaps it wouldn’t hurt for us to pause at the
beginning of any new year to thank our Creator for one uniquely human gift: the
ability to wonder.
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