XPost: alt.astronomy, alt.fan.heinlein
from
https://www.upworthy.com/astronaut-shares-big-lie-space-rp3
Astronaut shares the profound 'big lie' he realized after seeing the
Earth from space
This change in perspective could change humanity.
Tod Perry11.18.23
earth, overview effect, ron garan
via Rubén Moreno Montolíu/Flickr
Our home, from space.
Sixty-one years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to make it into
space and probably the first to experience what scientists now call the "overview effect." This change occurs when people see the world from far
above and notice that it’s a place where “borders are invisible, where racial, religious and economic strife are nowhere to be seen.”
The overview effect makes man’s squabbles with one another seem
incredibly petty and presents the planet as it truly is, one
interconnected organism.
In a compelling interview with Big Think, astronaut, author and
humanitarian Ron Garan explains how if more of us developed this
planetary perspective we could fix much of what ails humanity and the
planet.
Garan has spent 178 days in space and traveled more than 71 million
miles in 2,842 orbits. From high above, he realized that the planet is a
lot more fragile than he thought.
“When I looked out the window of the International Space Station, I saw
the paparazzi-like flashes of lightning storms, I saw dancing curtains
of auroras that seemed so close it was as if we could reach out and
touch them. And I saw the unbelievable thinness of our planet's
atmosphere. In that moment, I was hit with the sobering realization that
that paper-thin layer keeps every living thing on our planet alive,”
Garan said in the video.
“I saw an iridescent biosphere teeming with life,” he continues. “I didn't see the economy. But since our human-made systems treat
everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as
the wholly owned subsidiary of the global economy, it's obvious from the vantage point of space that we're living a lie.”
It was at that moment he realized that humanity needs to reevaluate its priorities.
“We need to move from thinking economy, society, planet to planet,
society, economy. That's when we're going to continue our evolutionary process,” he added.
Garan says that we are paying a very “high price” as a civilization for
our inability to develop a more planetary perspective and that it’s a
big reason why we’re failing to solve many of our problems. Even though
our economic activity may improve quality of life on one end, it’s also disasterous for the planet that sustains our lives.
It’s like cutting off our nose to spite our face.
Actor William Shatner had a similar experience to Garan's when he
traveled into space.
"It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered,"
Shatner wrote. "The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and
the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness.
Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction
of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and
fauna … things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we
will never see them again because of the interference of mankind."
“We're not going to have peace on Earth until we recognize the basic
fact of the interrelated structure of all reality,” Garan said.
However dire the situation looks from the surface of Earth, the
astronaut has hope that we can collectively evolve in consciousness and
wake up and embrace a larger reality. “And when we can evolve beyond a two-dimensional us versus them mindset, and embrace the true
multi-dimensional reality of the universe that we live in, that's when
we're going to no longer be floating in darkness … and it's a future
that we would all want to be a part of. That's our true calling.”
This article originally appeared on 12.16.22
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