If looked down upon from space our planet, Earth, would be seen to be a shining blue sphere teaming with possibilities and full of potential; however, you would never be able to see everything and everyone that exists on our beautiful world from orbit because you would be too removed - but if you were able to listen to what humanity broadcasts, transmits, and has shared every moment of every day, for over half a century now, then you might find it hard to understand everything that everyone is saying to one another; however, if you were to travel farther from Earth - say fifty light-years away - then you would be able to receive the transmissions of humanity that left our planet fifty years ago, and it would be like discovering a message in a bottle, or an audio signal of an era in time, that travelled at the speed of light from its source to be heard by anyone or anything that was listening in Earth’s direction.
Earth has always been a world full of stories, of civilisations, of beliefs, and our ideas about why things are the way that they are, and Earth has always been a world of invention and of dreamers who hope to be given the answer to the question of whether we are alone in the universe… for all of human existence, groups of individuals - such as scientists, artists, musicians, and believers in a particular religion - have sought to reach out their grasp and touch the face of the unknown, and reveal the truth about the meaning of life and why we are here; and since we have had the means and the resources to send living beings into space to relay back what awaits us far beyond the clouds - from dogs, to chimpanzees, to humans - as well as robotic sojourners capable of sending back images of the planets and the moons of our solar system, as well as photographs of the extraordinary phenomenon of our galaxy, humanity has been uncovering the history of the universe as well as the possibilities of reality.
In 1977, two gold disks were launched along with their respective Voyager spacecraft containing a greeting from the people of Earth, as well as images and depictions of human anatomy and the building blocks of life, the location of the sun and our solar system, and also recordings of some of the sounds that can be found and heard on our planet - such as the sound of waves crashing, birdsong, whale song, and a selection of some of the human languages that our species has evolved to use for communication between one another for centuries… even now, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 - not to mention all the other probes we have sent out into space - continue their mission and their journey into the great unknown, hopefully to be one day found by another, similar, space-faring, intelligent, innovative, and inquisitive race of beings who might wish to see whom it was that chose to take a leap of faith and send an invitation to a fellow member of the galactic community to visit a beautiful planet that is full of people, plants, animals, and other things that need to be seen and heard to be truly believed and understood; however, it’s entirely possible that we have already been visited by an intelligent interplanetary extraterrestrial species of explorers, who were drawn to our world a long time ago and who have already bore witness to the wonders of our planet, and who have long since become obsessed with the infinite number of the sounds of Earth.
The perseverance of imagination is what gives an artist their muse… the perseverance of an extraordinary idea is what inspired the first philosophers, the first explorers, the first inventors, the first daredevils, the first pilots, the first men to set foot on the moon… the perseverance of a team of dreamers is what has propelled all the man-made exploratory robots launched into space to get close up eye-views of the planets of our solar system and has led to trails of human built wheels to leave their mark upon the dusty copper coloured surface of the planet Mars.
Perseverance is having the strength of mind to decide to not give up no matter the distance that has to be crossed… perseverance is moving forwards despite others having reservations about your plan because you know with all that you are that not following your heart would be a sacrifice with too high of a cost… perseverance is finding answers to questions that were once thought to be irrevocably lost… perseverance is thinking about the potential future of everyone on Earth instead of anchoring yourself to the ideals of the distant past.
The perseverance of life is why there is so much diversity of species that is unique to this beautiful planet… the perseverance of light is why stars continue to shine long after their life-span has come to an end… the perseverance of spirit is why singers continue to sing, why painters continue to paint, why actors continue to act, why dancers continue to dance, why people listen to music, fall in love, and often find themselves living in a trance.
The secret source of success is not achieving more of something than somebody else – the secret of true success is realising what it takes to do what has to be done, what it takes to make it through the hard times, why it is important to believe in yourself, why it is important to believe in others: because it is remarkable what extraordinary feats can be achieved by people when they are inspired and they are compelled by the power of perseverance.
Every day is like a strange new world…
every day sometimes looks and feels
both similar and familiar,
and yet alien and extraordinary at the same time…
every day is like a journey into the unknown
for which we sometimes have no words…
every day sometimes feels so full of
the unexpected that we can come to
believe that we have slipped into
an existence that feels like another life.
Every day is an exploration of
the human condition…
every day we all have to venture
into the frontier of the world
that surrounds us sometimes with
no knowledge of who and what we will find…
every day can feel like a test, an exercise,
or a mission during which we all have to
make both big and small decisions…
every day can feel like a dream
or a creation of hope or fear of our mind.
We all need fantasy, just as much as
we all sometimes need a dose of reality…
we all need the wonder, the art, the joy,
the imagination, and the gift
of learning something, of seeing something,
of hearing something, and of going to somewhere
that we have never been before…
we all need to sometimes escape
within the pages to a book,
within the notes of a song,
or within the visual storytelling
of a TV show or a movie…
all that we can ask of ourselves,
especially in times when we feel like
we are living a life seemingly
beyond our control,
is to take one step at a time while we
learn how to live and to thrive
somewhere that feels like
a strange new world.
Life in the cities feels like
it is slowly restarting…
life on the streets feels like it is
in some way restoring…
the sunlight that falls upon
the windows of the tall buildings
reflects back upon everything
and everybody and makes the world
shimmer and glisten…
the beautiful weather beckons
to the young and the old –
and even in the slightest of sunbeams
there are sights and there sounds
to be found that could be thought of
as gifts of personal perfection.
There are moments of silence…
there are moments of laughter…
there are moments of stillness…
there are moments of drama…
there are moments of childhood…
there are moments of exploration…
there are moments of love…
there are moments of deep,
peaceful and necessary
meditation and contemplation.
Everybody’s life is slightly
different from one day to the next…
the weather of our planet
has been teaching us for centuries
that there will always be
some things in this world
that we will never be able to control
no matter how hard we try
or how much we are blessed…
everything is governed
by a clockwork cycle of universal
laws and proportions that are so
inherent to what makes life
what it is that it’s signature
can be seen time and again within
so many examples of nature…
the more that you believe
that there is no more to know,
that there are no other places to go,
and that life can no longer surprise you
is naturally when something or someone
will challenge that view
and deliver to you a revelation
that will make you question your past,
that will make you look at your present,
and influence the course of your future.
There is nothing
that draws peoples’ eyes
than that of the dragon-like fire
of a rocket as it blasts off from Earth,
like a falcon that pierces the blue sky,
until it reaches the eternal darkness
of space where it is always night
and adorned with distant starlight –
and it is always a feat of human
ingenuity, teamwork, and dreams
that makes such a leap into the unknown
one of many small steps that
will always be recorded in great
detail for generations to come
what inspired and intelligent
people can do when they work together
with a mission of peace
and space exploration
and see them return safely
with stories of what was,
what is, and what will be
the more that humanity reaches out
towards the stars with unity
as we continue to explore
the depths of infinity.
It’s always great to experience new things…
it’s always great to see things
you have never seen before…
it’s always refreshing to go somewhere
you have always wanted to go
but have never been before…
it’s always enlightening to be exposed
to the sights, the sounds, the people,
and the unique identity of a community
all living and breathing
every aspect of their particular
village, town, region, or city.
It has always been a passion of mine
to seek out, to explore, to experience,
and to learn more about the many
different and diverse voices, accents,
faces, beliefs, and opinions
that make humanity the distinct species
of dreamers, storytellers,
and builders that we are…
when people go somewhere that
is renowned for representing
and practicing certain customs
and for communicating
in certain ways of speech
that cannot be witnessed nor heard
anywhere else in the world,
you can find yourself initially
overwhelmed and uninformed –
however, like with most things,
the more that you are exposed to
certain things, and to certain practices,
the more likely it is that you will
naturally accept what you are surrounded by
and over time you will naturally
assimilate certain things into
your unconscious daily routines.
Being a wanderer can be exciting…
being someone who is constantly
looking for inspiration and stimulation
can be encompassing and thrilling…
being someone who wonders
why things are the way that they are
can be revealing…
being someone who ventures
beyond their understanding of what
life is all about is to be someone
who accepts the mission of exploration
and discovery that might take them
to places that are both illuminating
in terms of knowledge and fulfilling
in terms of inspiration
that cannot be underestimated
and are an essential and a substantial
source of sustenance
for the mind, for the body,
and for the soul of who you are.
Fifty years ago today,
a man took one small step,
one giant leap for all mankind,
and imprinted the first footprints
of exploration of The Moon,
while capturing the attention
of every nation of planet Earth
and inspiring the imagination
of an entire generation.
The 20th of July, 1969,
was the tip of an arrow,
the culmination of an idea,
the realization of a dream,
the answer to a call to rise above
our human divisiveness
and bring people together
to achieve something truly astounding
and incredible by working together
for a common purpose
to give humanity a vision
of a prosperous future
in which everybody could live
in peace with one another.
Fifty years ago,
three astronauts of NASA,
three men of planet Earth,
three space adventurers,
three space explorers,
three dreamers escaped this planet’s
gravity and journeyed across
the expanse of space
and arrived in orbit of The Moon…
fifty years ago, Michael Collins,
Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong
did what nobody before them
had ever done before,
and with the entire world watching
them intently, and yet from afar,
they redefined who we are,
who we should be,
what we should be doing,
and what we should never stop striving for.
The human race is at its best
when we are all thinking
about what is best for everybody,
when we are reaching for the stars
and believing that things
can and will get better for all
if we all choose to be
who we were born to be:
a people with a shared destiny
who need one another to
live to our full potential,
so that the next generations
can one day look back
and think well upon the choices
that were made to realize
the never-ending dream
of imagination, ingenuity,
and interstellar enlightenment
beyond those first imagined
by the dreamers, the scientists,
the engineers, the families,
and the astronauts
that breathed life into the missions
to put the first men on The Moon –
which came to fruition
with the success of Apollo 11,
when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
made history when they walked on The Moon
and then triumphantly returned to Earth.
Places change over time…
people come and people go…
most places that we visit
have virtual, and sometimes literal,
revolving doors through which
people enter and exit
every second of every day…
life itself is constantly
receiving and sending souls
to and from Earth…
our brain, our mind, our imagination,
our dreams have a constantly in use
gateway that connects them to our senses…
screens, books, one to one interactions
is how we send and receive messages
in this modern world…
pictures, graphics, and even methods
of communication that still involve words
daily communicate with and bind
everybody in a web from which
we sometimes find it hard to escape from
because it surrounds us in every direction…
our collective preoccupations
are constantly in a state of change…
our methods of exploration and discovery
become more advanced and revolutionary
every time a new idea spawns
a new wave of creativity
from a genius, an artist, a philanthropist
capable of thinking out of the box
and beyond the limits of understanding…
every day we as a species expand beyond
what we know, what we knew, and we uncover
the cloak of the unknown to reveal
a world of possibilities that has been there
in plain view the entire time
that we have been in our place
in the cosmos of stars, planets,
and phenomena that people are
constantly looking to and for
so that they can explore
what lies on the other side
and what there is to find when you choose
to venture through a revolving door.
Mark The Poet 