Friday, September 10, 2004

In 1987, a star exploded beyond our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers witnessed the cosmic phenomena, however the event didn't actually occur in 1987. The only thing that happened in 1987 was that the light from the explosion finally reached the Earth for observation. Taking into consideration the speed of light, the explosion of the star actually occurred 190,000 years ago. Yes, long before humankind had even invented a rudimentary telescope to peer into the heavens, the event had occurred.

In fact, if you had a telescope today, you could still see the star. Well, not exactly. All you would actually see is the remaining light streaming to Earth from a star that no longer exists. You would be gazing at something that no longer exists. It's hard to fathom but it occurs on this planet all the time...

We still collectively treat nations, races, genders, etc. by views and beliefs that no longer hold true (and were most likely never true) and realities that just don't exist anymore. Yet we continue to oppress and repress and obsess over things that are no longer there. We gaze into the past at "the way things were" and use the framework to understand and live in the present - yet all that remains is fading glimpses of what used to be.

Just because a stereotyped image or belief of what used to be is staring you back in the face, doesn't mean that it still exists. The majority of today's racism, hatred, bigotry and injustice still finds its place in beliefs and misconceptions of long ago; a long ago that doesn't exist and shouldn't exist in our present world. Unfortunately, it takes time for the images to fade; but knowing that they no longer exists puts a lot more of Life into perspective.

Post Note: Wondering what that part of the sky looks like without the exploded star? Well, stick around for approximately 190,000 years to get a better view... reality just takes time to eventually shine through.