"...we have lost our sense of awe partly because we are no longer exposed to that which is truly awesome" - we have the opportunity to visit my family in Switzerland each year, which allows us a few days in the Alps. Last year I hiked a new trails which led alongside a massive mountainside. It left me literally awestruck; I could not take my eyes from it. There are times when we will just sit and 'eat' the view of the waterfall, the mountains, the lush pastures; in those places God's creation speaks loud and clear.
Thanks Hadden. I think the best places I’ve observed the night sky with all the trillions of stars is Seychelles in the 1970s and NSW, Australia on a sheep farm in the mid 80s. Areas of Scotland and the western Isles are good too on a cloudless night! I do crave seeing the sky like that again and often try to find somewhere dark enough to look up and see. Yes, we have paid a great sacrifice for modern day convenience, entertainment and safety.
When we were kids we grew up on a farm in Australia and we were 30km from the nearest town, small town too. Summer nights the whole family would lie on the trampoline for an hour or too after dinner and look for satellites. I remember the Milky Way and how it was a beautiful glowing cloud. Not many satellites back then.
Now, again a farm, a different hemisphere, nearly all different stars which I’ve never had the chance to become familiar with as they’re not easy to see. We’re on a farm, a good 15km from the “city” but we can barely see a thing. We live on a road that barely gets traversed after 9 but they recently lit up the road with lights that remain on all through the night despite being of use to no one. We turn off all our lights at night. I imagine most people leave their lights on for a sense of security but I can’t think of an easier way to help out a burglar.
I imagine there’s hundreds more satellites now but I can’t see any at all
And just like that... Notes brought me to this wonderful place. Yay for Notes! Well done Hadden. This but truly home for me:
“This dynamic is clearly at play here as instead of being awestruck by the profusion of stars, we are infatuated with a different light - the glow of the innumerable screens which glimmer in our cities and homes. This is the glow of trivial light, addictive light, and profane light, a light emanating forth from pixels shining with the glitters and shimmers of social media, stock market reports, and celebrity gossip. And it has blinded us to that which is truly awesome.”
I love that there are others concerned with this type of thinking. I oft feel alone in this in my hometown.
As it happens, I ’ve written a small bit about this myself about a week ago. A portion specifically about light and stars. Please check it out if you have the time.
I recently learned that the national park about 20 minutes from my house is technically a dark sky preserve. It's become so normal to me to see the entire panoply of stars that I'd forgotten what a rare blessing I have. Reading this was a timely reminder to not take this for granted. Thanks Hadden!
Thanks Hadden. We live in Mid Devon, between Dartmoor and Exmoor, and when there are no clouds and the moon isn’t too bright, the stars are incredible. We watch the Milky Way up above, waiting patiently for us all to look to it. And when I lived in Zambia the stars were like nothing I’d ever seen. I first encountered God there - maybe the stars had something to do with it.
"...we have lost our sense of awe partly because we are no longer exposed to that which is truly awesome" - we have the opportunity to visit my family in Switzerland each year, which allows us a few days in the Alps. Last year I hiked a new trails which led alongside a massive mountainside. It left me literally awestruck; I could not take my eyes from it. There are times when we will just sit and 'eat' the view of the waterfall, the mountains, the lush pastures; in those places God's creation speaks loud and clear.
Thanks Hadden. I think the best places I’ve observed the night sky with all the trillions of stars is Seychelles in the 1970s and NSW, Australia on a sheep farm in the mid 80s. Areas of Scotland and the western Isles are good too on a cloudless night! I do crave seeing the sky like that again and often try to find somewhere dark enough to look up and see. Yes, we have paid a great sacrifice for modern day convenience, entertainment and safety.
Thanks Hilary, the Milky Way is a spectacle I am yet to witness... one day!
When we were kids we grew up on a farm in Australia and we were 30km from the nearest town, small town too. Summer nights the whole family would lie on the trampoline for an hour or too after dinner and look for satellites. I remember the Milky Way and how it was a beautiful glowing cloud. Not many satellites back then.
Now, again a farm, a different hemisphere, nearly all different stars which I’ve never had the chance to become familiar with as they’re not easy to see. We’re on a farm, a good 15km from the “city” but we can barely see a thing. We live on a road that barely gets traversed after 9 but they recently lit up the road with lights that remain on all through the night despite being of use to no one. We turn off all our lights at night. I imagine most people leave their lights on for a sense of security but I can’t think of an easier way to help out a burglar.
I imagine there’s hundreds more satellites now but I can’t see any at all
And just like that... Notes brought me to this wonderful place. Yay for Notes! Well done Hadden. This but truly home for me:
“This dynamic is clearly at play here as instead of being awestruck by the profusion of stars, we are infatuated with a different light - the glow of the innumerable screens which glimmer in our cities and homes. This is the glow of trivial light, addictive light, and profane light, a light emanating forth from pixels shining with the glitters and shimmers of social media, stock market reports, and celebrity gossip. And it has blinded us to that which is truly awesome.”
I love that there are others concerned with this type of thinking. I oft feel alone in this in my hometown.
As it happens, I ’ve written a small bit about this myself about a week ago. A portion specifically about light and stars. Please check it out if you have the time.
https://open.substack.com/pub/derekjpetty/p/make-haste?utm_source=direct&r=5z5dg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you, this is inspiring
I recently learned that the national park about 20 minutes from my house is technically a dark sky preserve. It's become so normal to me to see the entire panoply of stars that I'd forgotten what a rare blessing I have. Reading this was a timely reminder to not take this for granted. Thanks Hadden!
Thanks Hadden. We live in Mid Devon, between Dartmoor and Exmoor, and when there are no clouds and the moon isn’t too bright, the stars are incredible. We watch the Milky Way up above, waiting patiently for us all to look to it. And when I lived in Zambia the stars were like nothing I’d ever seen. I first encountered God there - maybe the stars had something to do with it.