Differences in time

The Earth is the same, and so are the people on it. But, when the people 5000 years ago looked at the sky, they couldn't envision what I do today. They saw only blue sky in the daytime and starlit sky at night. The Earth was the center of their existence. The sun literally rose in the east, set in the west, so it must have been on the move around the Earth. Nature had spirits that controlled it. There was the spirit of the forest, of the ocean, of the hills or mountains, of the river, of the sun, etc. Somehow the mysterious spirits were linked to the mystery of the skies above since people looked up when they thought of powers greater than themselves.

I look up and see distances between Earth and moon, Mars and Earth, Earth and Venus because we've been there. I have pictures in my mind of their surfaces. I know what all the planets look like. They're not mere twinkles against a black background. Travel to the moon for vacations begins in 2020 for those with the money to make the round trip. I know the names of some of the other suns that are close to our own.  The number of suns besides our own is around a billion in just the Milky Way alone. I know the shape and name of the galaxy of these billion suns. I can see the the neighboring galaxies that make up the cluster the Milky Way is in.

The moon controls the tides on Earth to an extent. The tilt of the Earth on its axis determines the length of the day. The position of the Earth in its revolution around the sun determines the season of the year. Solar winds can affect the magnetism and electrical charges on the Earth because of the solar winds during the 11-year peak of the sun's own cycle. Spirits of earth, wind, and fire don't apparently have any connection to any of the mysteries that exist today.

Only a cupful of time, 5000 years, has yielded a comletely, 100% different view of the sky between a viewer in 3000 BCE and the viewer in 2000 ACE. And that's how I feel from where I stand now in life and where I began my journey not that many years ago. My view of life is as radically different now from my early college years as the viewers of the sky 5000 years apart.

Most importantly, I know what moments in life are the ones worth keeping alive in both memory and in faith that they will repeat. I know the value to put on someone who brings cheer, laughter, optimism, vitality, determination, and stamina. I know the premium of someone who makes me better, creates synergy when together. I die a little each day without that one.

I don't look up at the sky and wonder what is out there. And I don't look at life and wonder who and what is important. There's a 5000 year difference, a lifetime of difference. And, it feeds my faith that I will one day create synergy with the one who makes me better.