Dixon Carter Lee
Headliner
- Joined
- Nov 22, 1999
- Posts
- 48,682
I had a nice little mystical experience the other day, and I haven't been able to write it about it well, so I'm just giving up and posting a blow by blow. I thought it was interesting.
Anyhow...
I was driving west on the highway, and iin front of me was one of those perfect LA sunsets. The sun was so low and red that you could actually stare at it without blinking, and since I had nothing better to look at for a while - I did. And I found myself taken with the nature of the sun -- an enormous red ball of burning Hydrogren gas, and how it has generated and nutrured all life on Earth for billions of years.
That was intellectually interesting, but after further staring I started to see the sun as an object in space. I was looking right at it. There it was, a star, close up.
You have to understand, we think of the moon as a mystical object because we can stare at it all night. We train telescopes on it. We gaze upon it and point it out to others. We take the time to contemplate the moon, because we can look at it for extended periods.
This doesn't happen with the sun, because it's too damned bright. We shield it with glasses, our hands, car shields. We move until we're in the shade, blocking the sun. We aren't able to look at the sun for more than a second, so we don't contemplate it beyond the abstract.
But this day I was able to look at the sun for about 20 minutes before it finally set, as it was no brighter than a stage light. I could see beyond the intellecutally abstract notion of the what the sun is, to the wonder of star before me, burning in space, creating a deep gravitional well in space time and forcing us into orbit. I was over-awed because I felt like I was looking at the solar system, and I felt a part of that celestial construct. I became aware of both the Universe as an actual body right here, not somewhere holding up the stars, but right here, holding up this fireball in front of me. I could "see" the other planets within the same plane as Earth, and I could "feel" us all floating in the void. I felt lifted off terra firma and conceived of the Earth as a ship hurtling through space. I felt like I could see the sun for the first time.
And then the sun set, and I went back to thinking about looking for a McDonald's.
I just thought I'd share that.
Anyhow...
I was driving west on the highway, and iin front of me was one of those perfect LA sunsets. The sun was so low and red that you could actually stare at it without blinking, and since I had nothing better to look at for a while - I did. And I found myself taken with the nature of the sun -- an enormous red ball of burning Hydrogren gas, and how it has generated and nutrured all life on Earth for billions of years.
That was intellectually interesting, but after further staring I started to see the sun as an object in space. I was looking right at it. There it was, a star, close up.
You have to understand, we think of the moon as a mystical object because we can stare at it all night. We train telescopes on it. We gaze upon it and point it out to others. We take the time to contemplate the moon, because we can look at it for extended periods.
This doesn't happen with the sun, because it's too damned bright. We shield it with glasses, our hands, car shields. We move until we're in the shade, blocking the sun. We aren't able to look at the sun for more than a second, so we don't contemplate it beyond the abstract.
But this day I was able to look at the sun for about 20 minutes before it finally set, as it was no brighter than a stage light. I could see beyond the intellecutally abstract notion of the what the sun is, to the wonder of star before me, burning in space, creating a deep gravitional well in space time and forcing us into orbit. I was over-awed because I felt like I was looking at the solar system, and I felt a part of that celestial construct. I became aware of both the Universe as an actual body right here, not somewhere holding up the stars, but right here, holding up this fireball in front of me. I could "see" the other planets within the same plane as Earth, and I could "feel" us all floating in the void. I felt lifted off terra firma and conceived of the Earth as a ship hurtling through space. I felt like I could see the sun for the first time.
And then the sun set, and I went back to thinking about looking for a McDonald's.
I just thought I'd share that.
