Space

There is so much out there in the universe and we haven't even explored a fraction of a percent of it. The vastness of space is both alluring and terrifying. It captures our imagination because man has always had an intrinsic fascination, perhaps obsession, with the stars and heavens above us. The universe around us is constantly expanding, and I don't think that, at least in my lifetime, we'll ever be able to truly understand all of it. In some ways that might be a good thing. I say that because I've always believed that having problems to solve, mysteries to unpack, and a journey to take, is significantly more enjoyable than simply having all of the answers and knowledge. We're discovering new things about our very own galaxy nearly every day, and the universe beyond is sure to contain countless more mysteries and miracles. There is a certain majesty about the unknown and as we've seen time and time again; the reality of the world is often more fantastic and phenomenal than we could have possibly conjured up with even our wildest imaginations. Space is both fascinating and terrifying. It's a frontier that so many people have sacrificed their lives in the attempt of conquering. There is a reason people are willing to do that, and that reason is the desire to venture into the unknown, to be the first to witness the fascinating wonders of the heavens above us, and to have their names and fates written into the stars for all of eternity. When the challenger exploded, president Reagan said those famous words; "We will never forget them. As they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." In my opinion, that's just what those astronauts, and the many others who braved the trek into the unknown did. As we delve further into space, the unfortunate reality is that many more people will die, but they do so out of their own free will, out of the intrinsic drive that humanity has to venture into the vast universe, to grow, to understand, and to conquer. I don't believe we will ever truly discover everything that the universe has to offer and teach us, but in my opinion, that's a good thing. If we were to have all of the answers, if we were to completely conquer every corner of existence, I think that all we would be left with is a feeling of emptiness. The desire to discover, to explore, and to move forward is woven in to our very DNA, it is intrinsic to who we are, and that will consistently lead us up to the heavens above. The subject of space is something I could write an entire separate blog on, and many people have, but as you know if you've read this blog before, I like to keep things fairly brief. In closing, while Reagan certainly isn't my favorite president (I will be making a separate entry on him later on) another one of his quotes seems fitting to end this entry; "The future doesn't belong to the faint hearted, it belongs to the brave." This sums up the desire that so many have to explore the universe outside of this little blue ball we live on.