day one hundred and thirty-seven - universal circuit breaker
Within the tempestuous Carina Nebula lies “Mystic Mountain.” This three-light-year-tall cosmic pinnacle, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 in 2010, is made up primarily of dust and gas, and exhibits signs of intense star-forming activity. The colors in this composite image correspond to the glow of oxygen (blue), hydrogen and nitrogen (green) and sulfur (red).
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
I like big thoughts - Large, expansive ones, often covering large periods of time - and there’s nothing bigger than the universe itself.
Astronomy, astrophysics, astrophotography, and even the most simple ruminations of space and time, are all things that are able to take my mind away, and see myself and my trials as infinitesimally small in comparison. Either that, or completely they dumbfound me in their beauty and complexity. giving me a moment of brain-peace.
Whilst in the future I’ll probably still beat myself up about the same memory of doing something cringeworthy, thinking about the 13.8 billion years since the big bang, the formation of the earth, evolution of life, the fact that we are made from stars, and the tiny blip that homosapiens have been on the planet… me playing a wrong note, or regretting saying something 15 years ago seems pretty insignificant.
It can be lovely to have something that can take away so many other thoughts and take over one’s mind with awe and wonder, especially when it can feel like I’m in a self-deprecating loop.
It’s my universal circuit breaker.
40 more pushups from me today.
If you are inclined and able, please considering donating to Headspace Albury Wodonga via our Kilt Life Crisis team page.
https://www.thepushupchallenge.com.au/team/5750-kilt-life-crisis
Kilt of the day - Macleod Tartan Sport Kilt
Soundtrack of the day - Galaxy Song - Eric Idle - Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqtdpuZxvk
The “Believe me, you need it in your life” composition of the day - Gustav Holst - The Planets. Op. 32
[This version performed by Filharmonia Narodowa (The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland), as conducted by Maciej Tarnowski]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OD_HzdZwKk
Audiobook of the day - Astrophysics for People In A Hurry - written and read by Neil deGrasse Tyson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tn1AF0rOiw
