Two global events impressed me:

1. When men started orbiting this planet, they were in awe of the sheer beauty of the view of the planet from their new and fantastic vantage point. Immediately, they reinforced something that we knew but had not given adequate consideration: “We see no borders,” they said.

That statement was a profound reminder of how unreasonable our global nationalistic postures had developed and are still being staunchly defended. The astronauts watched as continents passed by one after another with no hint of the presence of sovereign nations and their borders. That experience punctuated the knowledge that people of diverse origins are sharing this globe on which we are imprisoned by gravity, with a unique system of separation of communities.

2. Later on, slide shows were available showing satellite photos of each region of the planet taken on rare days when there were no clouds anywhere. The photos are fascinating. Again, what they do not show can shock the senses. The various views reveal none of the myriad of marks and lines of all kinds that we see on the plastic globes and the various kinds of maps that we normally use. Those marks condition our perception in a certain way.

Viewing the real thing without such encumbrances is a stark reminder of our planet Earth as it really is. The essence of simplicity in those photos is at the least fascinating and at most awe inspiring. I experienced the latter. Viewing the planet in this way should be the definition of, “Let’s step back and view this in its proper perspective.”

One astronaut is credited as saying, “If everyone could go out in space and look down at the earth, the result would be that our world would change drastically.”

Amen.