BEYOND MOONSHOTS
Thursday, July 22, 2021
Whatever sort of life we live, or where we live it, we are all both remarkably different and remarkably the same. For instance, someone loves classical music; someone else loves hip hop. They are so different, yet also obviously so similar – they both love music.
Everybody wants something they cannot have. Billionaires want to go to Mars without losing their life. Poor people want to go about their business without losing their life, or the few dollars they have. Their needs are widely different, yet they both love life and safety.
My point is that we all share much more humanity than do we have differences. Our DNA isn’t our commonality or our difference. We are earthlings. Soon, we’ll be vacationing in space, building factories on the moon and colonizing Mars.
Many will react with, “Not in my lifetime,” and others will say “Yes, just not sure when,” and the nature of life as we know it changes.
Nobody here came from anywhere else. We are all here, on earth. We are all nearly the same – yet too many of us see our fellow man, and our fellow critters, as the enemy, which is odd, since we have all descended from earlier forms of life; a single cell then, one that split into two, just like me, just like you.
There is only time and distance between us.
Two days ago, on the 52nd anniversary of the first manned moon landing, a dropout named Jeff bought his way away from earth. Not the first man, but the first to go without some government footing the bills – he went on his own dime. Yet his own dime came from everyone who ever bought anything from Amazon.
One day ago, on the 21st, it was the 99th anniversary of my late father’s birth. I remember him marveling at that moon landing – as vivid a memory of standing beside him in front of a TV set in 1969 is as vivid a memory for me as was sitting with him when he died at 91½.
What will surprise and stun us next?
We love discovery, and progress excites us.
And most changes are not life-threatening pandemics, most changes are explorations if the gigantic universe or the minutia of tiny things.
But few of these great things can exceed the value of an outstretched hand …
Reader feedback:
Change is hard. I think it’s that simple, RH, Calgary, AB
Your Tough Sell musing begs the question of why you would even want to get someone else to do your bidding. It sounds a lot like a dream to engage in manipulative narcissistic behavior rather than having respect for your adult associates. That said, I taught grade 12 English to whole classes full of “reluctant students”. I only needed to show them why it was in their own best interests to do the work. I made sure they knew why the skills I was requiring had value and also pointed out that I got paid whether they passed or failed. Once they realized they were doing it for themselves, it was up to them to take “ownership of the problem”. Mind you, they weren’t on my pay roll, and if they were, some of them would definitely have been fired, but that’s their choice and I’m all about respecting people’s choices. Further to that, I’ve found the best way to motivate yourself to do something is to use the Nike motto as your mantra…Just Do It. It can get you through a lot of procrastination. Regards, MJ, Southern Ontario