LIFT-OFF

   When man first looked at the Earth from the Moon the whole of mankind changed. It is sad, though, that we don’t yet realize it.

   The astronauts who went on the Apollo missions were changed men when they returned. Some spoke of the change, becoming more mystical, or more artistic. And it wasn’t, so much, the Moon that changed them, but the Earth itself.

For the first time in history, the planet had been seen as more than a mere habitat. Suddenly, it was more than a rock with an atmosphere and fragmented races competing for space and power. Rather, it was a pulsating beacon, vibrating with life in a seemingly dark and dead universe. 

The vision the astronauts gained was of something more than mere man. It was a rebirth of spirituality. As later shown by Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis, Planet Earth was more akin to a coordinated wholeness; maybe not a living thing, as some would suggest, but a complete concept, with us as part of the whole. 

When pictures of the complete Earth were shown, an idea was placed in man’s consciousness. It was an idea of oneness and destiny – by oneness, we realized we were as one with everything else; by destiny, we understood that it was our purpose to be more than we presently were.

But as I said, we did not understand it at the time, and we still don’t. But consider this – since the pictures of the whole Earth were seen, the environmental cause has gathered steam; the world moved towards peace with talks which began the process to end the Cold War; the New Age movement became complete, with new attitudes towards spirituality and the ‘self.’ And frustrations began, deep in us all, that we were not fulfilling our complete potential.

At this present moment in history we are in denial of these urges, and the cause in realizing our togetherness on the planet. At the moment we’re fighting these urges, descending into self-destructive consumerism, trivia and conflict. But an idea, once placed, will eventually come out.

Mankind is on the verge of its new destiny, to become as one on the planet and then move forward to our next stage of discovery – space itself. And for as long as we fight this urge – for as long as we continue to descend into trivia and conflict – we will not be whole as a species.

Tell me I’m wrong.

© Anthony North, Feb 2007

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