For several years, “06880” rang in the new year with an iconic photo: The “blue marble” image of Earth, suspended in space.
Taken by Apollo 17 astronauts in December 1972, for half a century it symbolized the beauty and fragility of our planet, and the interconnectedness of us all.
Two years ago, I went intergalactic.
In the months since the James Webb Space Telescope beamed its first pictures back to us, the world has been mesmerized.
We thought we knew how vast and amazing the universe is.
Now, we realize, we don’t know the half — or the hundredth, or squintillionth — of it.
Gazing at photos like the one above, we realize how insignificant we truly are. Our planet is just one grain of sand, on an obscure beach, in an out-of-the-way location.
We really don’t matter at all.
Except to us.
Take a look at that photo again.
That landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region in the Carina Nebula. For the first time, we see stars being born.
We look billions of light years into the past. That’s crazy stuff.
So — back here on Earth, in our tiny ZIP code in our small state in our big country in our average-sized planet — we have to wonder: What actually matters?
Is it whether our new athletic field is grass or turf? Is it whether we build a parking deck downtown? Is it the inconvenience of traffic on our roads, or a neighbor who chops down most of his trees?
The answer is: Yes.
These things matter.
They matter because they are part of our lives here in Westport. Sure, the universe seems endless; we still can’t really conceive of the fourth dimension, and our universe itself may be part of another, “living” life form.
In other words, the Westport — and the world — we know may just be atoms in an infinitely more complex something-or-other.
But all that’s for another day (or time).
Meanwhile, we look for the answers to life out there. But right now, it’s our own lives to lead, right here in “06880.”
Let’s lead them well.
And so … bringing us back to what we know best … here’s that beautiful blue marble, once more.
Beautifully said, Dan. I too feel our significance within insignificance (the universe of opposites)
May you all experience 12 months of success, 52 weeks of laughter, 365 days of fun, 8,760 hours of joy, 525,600 minutes of good luck, and 31,536,000 seconds of happiness. HAPPY NEW YEAR
May you all experience 12 months of MAGA success, 52 weeks of MAGA laughter, 365 days of MAGA fun, 8,760 hours of MAGA joy, 525,600 minutes OF MAGA good luck, and 31,536,000 seconds of MAGA happiness. HAPPY NEW YEAR
How original. This country has already endured the MAGA first year in 2017 with an immigration ban, investigation on Russian election interference, exit from the Paris Climate agreement, wasted time in an attempt to repeal Obamacare, Riots in Charlottesville, 3 hurricanes, mass shootings in Las Vegas, Endless moronic tweets from our Twitter-in-Chief as he watched “Fox and Friends” instead of his intelligence briefings. Hardly a happy year.
Happy New Year Dan! Thank you for bringing us 06880!
Thanks Dan, in the universe we are only significant to each other. The only answer to existential question “why are we here?…. For each other.
Thanks Dan. Great article and yes we are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but we do matter and we should always remember. Be kind to others and to ourselves. Happy New Year. Please keep up the good work.
I wish all Westporters a parking place when they need it.
Happy New Year.
Is Squintillionth really a word? 🤣 Happy New Year Dan!
Happy New Year Dan, wonderfully written