Most of the world’s population does not read the New York Times (NYT). So, in a sense, this blog is similar to the well-known, much-heralded, and often-denounced newspaper. Among the chief differences: the NYT has a larger readership and more staff.
Only a tiny fraction of the world’s population knows Bill Gates personally. I find myself in the same situation. But Bill Gates and I are different to the extent that his financial resources eclipse mine; there could be other dissimilarities.
When considering the distinctions and parallels between my life and the lives of others, I find that I am much more like myself than I am like anyone else. That is true of others, too. We are individuals, each with unique characteristics and traits that make us who we are, yet we are beings who collectively seem to have more similarities than differences. So, is it true that I am more like me than I am like them?
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A published photograph of the Milky Way and its environs, taken at a recent “dark skies night” event, captured my attention and inspired my awe. At the center of the photo, the bulk of the Milky Way was clearly visible as a dense and spectacularly beautiful mass of stars. Surrounding that large cluster of stellar objects was a blanket of faint, closely-spaced pinpoints of starlight that stretched across the rest of the entire sky. The number of tiny dots of light was, I feel certain, far more than I could have seen with my naked eye. The image was breathtaking. It was so emotionally powerful, in fact, that for a few moments of staring by proxy into space, I felt a deep sense that answers to the most profound questions ever posed by humankind could be found there. There was something about the vastness of the sky and its reminder of the incalculable distances around us that made me feel at peace with the idea that the answers to everything are “there,” but I will never know most of them. I imagine my sense of reverent astonishment might be mistaken by some as a religious experience. Though it was not, I think it may have helped me better understand the power and depth that religious beliefs have for so much of humankind. Anything that enhances understanding has some value.
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Within just a few days of Kamala Harris’ announcement of her candidacy for President, I first saw a YouTube video of Keb’ Mo’ performing his song, Put a Woman in charge. Though I had heard the tune many times in the past few years, I had not seen the video until then. I loved it from the moment I saw it. Yesterday, at church, the minister delivered a sermon about the absolute need for the “war on women” to stop. And the Keb’ Mo’ video was shown as part of the minister’s “Dramatic Moment,” series, when we watch a relevant video. Yesterday’s message was extremely powerful. So is this video.
