The big picture

Credit: NASA/JPL/VOYAGER

This famous photograph known as Pale Blue Dot was snapped by spacecraft Voyager 1 in 1991. In his book entitled Pale Blue Dot, astrophysicist Carl Sagan referred to the image to describe the insignificance of our world in comparison to the cosmos. He said:

"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light."

Yes, deluded we certainly are in every sense of the word, and not just in regard to the superiority of our nationality, religion, race or species.

Could we live with ourselves if we didn't demand a superiority in something? (Some call it humbleness.)

Have you ever told a child its okay to be average?