When I was a young teenager I saw a short film called "Powers of Ten" that for the first time opened my consciousness to the immense size of our Universe. The film begins at a picnic on the Chicago lakeshore and the camera zooms out in exponents of ten, farther and farther until the Earth is just a dust mote in our galaxy and farther still until our galaxy is just another star among millions. You can see the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0I remember seeing the film and realizing that we on Earth couldn't possibly be alone in the vastness of the Universe. Who knows what is contained in those millions of stars beyond? What kind of Life and what Spirit?
On this Earth Day, we don't need to be told anymore that our Earth is in trouble. We know that it is. And just by driving a hybrid car and eating locally grown food- etc, etc, is not going to solve the multitude of abuses of our natural resources. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, and it doesn't mean we should make plans to populate Mars. But we do need to bring more Love and conscious thinking to everything we do and to all our fellow Earthlings.
