Over the Fence:
And Up Into Outer Space A
few weeks ago, I was sitting in my room one evening listening as my oldest son told me about his day at school when suddenly he received a notification on his phone. After glancing at it he quickly hopped up and said, “Oh, it’s time!” Utterly clueless, I asked him, “Time for what?” “The International Space Station is about to pass over.” My son has wanted to be an engineer since he was five years old. He and his brother are even enrolled in the pre-engineering program at Gordon Cooper Technology Center. Out of the various fields of engineering, it is aerospace engineering that has always captured his imagination. We shouted at the rest of the family to join us outside. This wasn’t the first time we had watched it fly over, but the sky was particularly clear this evening for a magnificent view. Sure enough, as we waited patiently and watched the southern sky, a very distinct and bright light emerged from the horizon and began its journey over us. We started talking about what sorts of projects the astronauts might be working on and how long they would be up there. We talked about commercial space flight and what a crazy idea that seemed like not too long ago. It also occurred to us that someday, perhaps in our lifetimes, someone
Brandon Dyer
will travel to Mars. Space travel to Mars? Yes, Mars. As the space station sped along out of sight, we listened intently as my oldest son spoke in great detail about the universe and black holes and dark matter. We entertained mind-boggling thoughts about the number of galaxies and solar systems that exist –- that we know of so far. We talked about God and how the universe is a beautiful metaphor to help us understand what God is like. There are things we can know and things we cannot know. All of this reminded me of trips I used to take to Montana when I was in my 20s to work at a camp west of Billings in the Beartooth Mountains. At night, we would lie on our backs speechless as we witnessed the majesty of the universe spread out before us on a canvas unlike anything
we could experience back home. How could there be so many stars? How could this be there each day and it not move us? How can we go on with normal life the next morning while knowing, or rather, not knowing what is really out there? We felt like ants standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon lacking the capacity to understand such beauty. We were overcome with awe. For thousands of years, human beings have experienced and expressed feelings of awe. Psychologists call these experiences “self-transcendent.” They shift our attention away from ourselves, cause us to feel like we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, change our perception of time and even motivate us to be more generous to others. I imagine you’ve had your own moments in life where you were overwhelmed with awe. Maybe it was the birth of a child, seeing mountains for the first time or a profound spiritual
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experience. These feelings are critical to the human experience because they cause us to reevaluate our often inflated perception of self-importance and realign our energies to recognize the value of those around us. Taking care of and loving oneself is good so long as we are also actively working to love our neighbors and see to their needs. This is foundational to healthy communities and is foundational to becoming socially and emotionally healthy humans. The pursuit of happiness cannot be fulfilled if that pursuit only considers one’s individual happiness. It must always consider our neighbor’s as well. They are not mutually exclusive. We live in a world that in many ways has lost its mind. May we all make space for the practice of awe. May it realign our sense of purpose and redefine our pursuit of happiness to not only serve our own needs, but also the needs of our sisters and brothers.
HOUSE OF
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By Brandon Dyer, Executive Director of Community Renewal of Pottawatomie County
405-395-4481
3946 N. Kickapoo Street, Unit 10 • Shawnee, OK Marble Slab Creamery & Great American Cookies
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