I found myself out in the middle of nowhere at 3 AM, surrounded by corn and a few really good friends, staring up at the stars, looking for signs of the Perseids. We saw several meteors streak across the backdrop of stars.
"The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseids are so-called because the point from which they appear to come, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Perseus. The name derives in part from the word Perseides (Περσείδες), a term found in Greek mythology referring to the sons of Perseus.
The stream of debris is called the Perseid cloud and stretches along the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle. The cloud consists of particles ejected by the comet as it travels on its 130-year orbit. Most of the dust in the cloud today is around a thousand years old. However, there is also a relatively young filament of dust in the stream that was pulled off the comet in 1862. The rate of meteors originating from this filament is much higher than for the older part of the stream" [Wiki].
We had a great time last night. We drank some. We talked a lot. We caught a glimpse of the universe. I considered how many people blind themselves, stabbing out their eyes like Oedipus, but with metaphoric brooches of fear, hatred, bigotry, and dogma. I considered how blind I can be sometimes when I let petty and insignificant things rob me of self-awareness. "We're just fucking monkeys in shoes" [Minchin]. "We're made of star stuff" [Sagan]. These are liberating thoughts. They laugh in the faces of vain piety and abject nihilism. Such thoughts - if we dare have the courage to understand and live them out - tell us to relax, enjoy life, and chill the fuck out. How many arguments between people who otherwise love each other and would die for each other would be avoided if we truly lived out such thoughts? How many broken relationships would be mended (or not broken in the first place) if our words and actions reflected such ideas? How many wars would have been prevented? How many lives would have been saved? How many heretics would have been spared execution? How many martyrs would have been allowed to live?
The stars last night reminded me of my dad. He and I spent many summer nights camping and staring up at the stars together. The stars reminded me of those who refuse to accept me for who I am because I cannot believe what they believe. Connections between humans damaged or severed completely because of a belief.
These are sobering thoughts. Still, I have no choice but to keep looking up.
— Dead-Logic
Keep Looking Up
Keep Looking Up
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