Heroes Not Zombies

The philosopher, Mary Midgley, wrote “Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what would we do if the stars came out only once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would create new religions overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead, the stars come out every night and we watch television.”

Have you ever been out in the countryside on a clear night? Far from city lights. The sky looks amazing. It is astonishing. To see the Milky Way, our home galaxy, spread across the black sky above our heads, to identify “the plough”, “Cassiopeia”, the “seven sisters”, a planet or two…..it is ALWAYS a thrill. It’s one of the best ways I know to be amazed, to slip into wonder, to feel your boundaries dissolve as you experience the reality that All is One, and One is All.

Patrick Curry writes, “Wonder, enchantment, astonishment, delight, joy – these are experiences that are not, and cannot be, simply willed into existence or manufactured on demand. They are not under control, not something we do but something that happens to us…..It cannot be tested, evaluated, improved, rolled out or developed, and there can be no system or method to achieve it.”

Wonder, love, joy…..all delivered to us by the universe when we live with open hearts, ready to receive.