We live in a Universe that is expanding. We know this is so because scientists have made observations that tell us it is true… but how do they know and what does this fact mean to us, living our busy lives?
If you ever take the time to look deep into the clear night sky, you will not detect this expansion at all… even though it is occurring at an incredible rate. All that we can see from earth is the twinkling of some of the stars, and if we take a moment to be very still and very open, we may sense the indescribable and ageless stillness of the Universe.
In those moments that we make the time to look, it is almost impossible to imagine those stars and galaxies moving away from us at enormous speeds. It is almost dizzying to think about it and its grand scale. The Universe is not just expanding in a flat plane, like a sprawling city with new developments growing at a pace from its centre. It is growing in all directions, a little like a balloon being inflated, with far distant galaxies moving even faster than those at the centre.
We cannot detect this expansion for the simple reason that the Universe is incomprehensibly huge – the stars are so far away that no matter how fast they move to our eyes they remain fixed. Even the enormity of the Milky Way Galaxy is but a speck in the whole Universe, so how can we humans, with a perspective limited by the fact that we are stuck on our little planet, know this is true?
By light, its transmission and its lifespan.
Thats right, we measure our universe via light and its incredible journey across space and time. We often consider light fast and by all practical means it is, but when it comes to the vast universe even light becomes a matter of years and centuries to travel and be seen. in fact some stars we are just now seeing, burnt out eons ago and their light is just reaching earth!
So let me encourage each of you to ponder on this and then become your own light, shine outwardly for others to embrace and see. In the end if you do so brilliantly and without fail, your own light will shine on and outward for years to come even after we each burn out so brilliantly as all stars do.
Peace and Love, Jim
