In 1990, as the Voyager 1 sailed away from Earth, it snapped a photograph of our planet from more than 4 billion miles away.
That photograph revealed our planet as a speck in our solar system and was referred to as the pale blue dot. In a commencement speech that astronomer Carl Sagan gave for the public release of this photograph, he said:
“If you look at it you see a dot…that’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives…it is our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
This was Voyager’s last photo of the earth before it ran out of film. But it continues to voyage beyond, into the great unknown, seeking who knows what.
Kindness and compassion, getting over yourself for the sake of others, the planet, your community, your team, your family…. what does that really mean to you?
We talk about taking ourselves to a different level to view the system, taking a greater perspective, or just looking at things from a different point of view to the one we are in.
In taking that perspective, we have options we maybe never thought we had, ways of approaching things that may not be obvious until we consciously stop and consider…. we then find choice. Conscious choice.
So this week, we ask you step to the side, or turn around and take a picture of the situation from 4 billion miles away.
What other choices does that give you to consider and how many more actions, approaches or attitudes are available to you?