Spaced Out
3 reflections on space on an overcrowded planet.
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Space is a theme in our lives. It is all around us, literally and figuratively.
We’ve been forced to space ourselves out this last year and a half. There are those who have created space between themselves and Earth itself by being launched into outer space. And then coming down from the highs of the universe there is that repulsive spaced-out feeling we experience from the inevitability of loss. Come explore space, the final frontier, with me.
Physical Space
The years of the plague have taught us how important it is to keep a perimeter of space around you. Physical, biological space is protection.
Living and working so remotely this last year had me reflecting on how much I have appreciated the freedom to float in my own space. This buffer reduced social expectations and after moving back to Alberta, as much as I wanted to be reunited with loved ones again, I must confess it was a relief to unpack slowly and unwind my mind.
While extroverts lamented the social disconnection I took a deep long breath and sighed contentedly.
That is until science was ignored and the plague lasted. And lasted. And continues on. The bubble is so last year. I miss live concerts. I cried when a podcast played the sound of an audience reaction to a movie. It’s not that I revel in bouncing around a mishmash of people. Rather, I realized it’s that rare feeling of collective oneness, when an entire flock of humans is feeling the same vibe, getting their own joy out of a shared experience.
Outer Space
My husband gently used to tease me that Chris Hadfield was my “boyfriend”. We have a Canadian representing us in the space program terrestrially and celestially, so yes… I am unashamedly wowed by this dude. (There are only four Canadians who have ever performed space walks and he has done two of those seven walks!)
What makes him rise high in my esteem also is his delight in taking us by the hand, saying “come and learn!” He knows he is only one of a tiny percentage of the earth’s population that have ever experienced true space and he wants us to know it as best as he can represent it.
