The pale blue dot

One Of The Most Life-Altering Realizations A Human Can Ever Have

We wake up, we get ready, eat our breakfast and go to work or school. In our travels we might get annoyed at the traffic or dread where we are headed all together. When we get there we partake in whatever it is we need to in order to achieve whatever goal was set out for the day. We often immerse ourselves in our actions without ever realizing the beauty that is happening around us at all times. We often don’t pay attention to what we do or how it feels for our bodies to move throughout the day. Once our day is complete we head home, hopefully spend some time with our families and then repeat the process.

In the course of any given day we can experience a range of emotions, but often we are struggling to find peace or joy. The struggle to find peace often comes from getting caught up in the various actions of the day which we think are incredibly significant. This happens because we become out of touch with what is, who we are and the nature of our world. We don’t even have to look at things on a “spiritual” level to realize that we are just a spec in the entirety of our universe -of all that is. This is why “The Pale Blue Dot” is such a significant image. It reminds us not to take life too seriously.

The spec you see in the picture above is us. It is Earth at a very far distance. Sitting in the midst of vastness just being, Earth is put into perspective when we see an image like this. Take a moment to realize where we truly are and how we ultimately are a tiny spec in a massive interconnected universe. Now I don’t want to create the idea that we are insignificant, because I don’t believe that to be true. Given we are connected to everything and everything is connected to us, we do have an impact on everything in our universe. Everything is ultimately equal and the same consciousness. Everything is one massive playground where many beings are playing together. I simply want to encourage reflection after looking at this image.

Are the things we get upset about, get angry about, worry about, have fear about, really worth all the emotional turmoil they create? Think of the pain, destruction, grudges and heartache that comes of even small actions due to how we make them so serious. Don’t get me wrong, there can be growth in experiencing these things, but is there a higher state of consciousness or awareness we can reach to see our daily “troubles” in a different light? To see our lives in a different light all together?

Take a moment and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out. Feel the true nature of who you are and realize that behind all we make serious with our minds, there is a feeling of peace that exists. This is what this image inspires me come back to. That peace is always there and can be an everyday occurrence should we shift out of making life so personal and so serious. World peace is ultimately up to us, not anyone else or any external factor.

Listen to Carl Sagan as he speaks eloquently about this image and its implications. It is life-altering.



Joe Martino