Pale Blue Dot

     Take a look at the picture on your left. It's a picture of earth taken from Voyager 1---four million miles away. Take in the muted colors. It's really quite a boring picture until you understand what it actually is.

     Now read the quote from one of the most important, privileged and distinguished scientist in America---Carl Sagan. Google his name and read about him. Read his impressive titles and credentials. Look at his important smile. He knows he's important.
     In fact, even pot smokers love him. Here's a quote from the web hailing Sagan for his pot induced genius. "Astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist...It’s hard to argue for pot slowing you down when you look at Carl Sagan’s record. Apparently a confirmed and admitted stoner, among his many achievements are a Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy, a best-selling novel, as well as more than 500 science papers and articles. He was a founding member of the Planetary Society, and he won a pipe load of scientific awards. Hardly surprising, he is said to have believed in the validity of stoned insights." (1)

     Now I'm not by any means proposing that we all jump on the marijuana bandwagon.  In fact, I'm a non smoker and believe that genius comes from God, not cannabis.  I believe that we can tap into the genius of God if we so choose.  In my humble opinion, it's a matter of faith. The mind is a powerful and influential organ. Psychologist have purported for years that our mind, out thoughts and our beliefs truly make up how we live, who we are. Scripture and great spiritual writers have captured the essence of this reality: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
     But---This is a blog about God and our significance, so allow me to continue.  I could write forever on Mr. Sagan, but he's not really that important---or is he? God says he is! Let's read Psalm 139 and imagine that this is Carl Sagan expressing his importance.
     "Oh God, You have searched me, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue...you Oh God...know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb...I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be...."

      Now wouldn't it be nice for some of us if we were insignificant. We wouldn't have to take responsibility for anything. Our actions would just be undirected, random chemical reactions and haphazard happenings. No one on this pale blue dot would ever have to seek truth, strive for any virtue or commit any noble deed. 

     But consider the following: Our earth is just the right size, just the right distance, tilt, revolution and rotation around the sun; it has just the right temperature, just the right moon, just the right atmosphere, just the right amount of water, just the right amount of life giving oxygen or has just the right conditions to be alive! This pale blue dot is alive! We are not a lonely speck. And the consciousness in us is the same consciousness in the universe.  There is power emanating from that pale blue dot. 

     Close your eyes.  Now imagine. Imagine you are on Mars. It's cold. It's dark. It's lonely. It's desolate. It's lifeless. Did you visualize that? Wow! You can visualize things. You can visualize yourself beyond the universe into another universe. You can visualize great things...anything in fact! Anything! You can visualize anything good or evil. The pale blue dot is nothing---without God!
     My Catholic tradition has taught me that God, the creator of the universe has invited me into history; she's taught me that God has invited me to participate with him in his creation. My Catholic tradition has taught me that everything in the universe has his fingerprint on it. My Catholic tradition has taught me that God is concerned with this pale blue dot. My Catholic tradition has taught me that we as humans are made in his image. And that doesn't surprise me in the least. 

     In fact, many before me believed as I do.   Monseigner Georges Lemaître, renowned astronomer, physicist and priest influenced Pope Pius XII, although he didn't like to mix science with religion according to a web article.  The Msgr. also expressed that "the cross and the gospel were enough."           So I feel certain that he would have agreed with me in saying that God is the ultimate scientist.  "He" is also author and finisher of our faith, that God is interested in more than just our existence, that God wants us to experience with "him" all that "he" is, and that science is a gift from "him." Learn more about Monseigner George Lemaître  here: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8847 .  Also, take a peek at the many other Catholics who were also very influential scientists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Catholic_scientists.  And remember, our importance is not a delusion---perhaps a mystery, but not a delusion.  

(1) http://coed.com/2011/02/02/the-10-smartest-pot-smokers-on-the-planet-cool-enough-to-admit-it/

Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust

     So I recently photographed an abandoned home with a dear friend and fellow photographer. It was haunting. Not haunted---but haunting. I was fascinated by the worn shoes throughout the old home, and I wondered who had worn them. Perhaps I'll find out another day, as I'm sure there is a life filled story to know. 

The people in the scene were dead, but alive.  I could hear them.  I heard their smiles and their cries.  I saw their laughter and their anger.  I felt their exhaustion and their vulnerability.  

I heard complaints of sore feet, sore backs and sore hands.  I heard cooking and the clanging of pots and pans. I heard mothers screaming at children. I heard fathers sighing and I heard the ruffling of the pages of his escape in a newspaper.  I saw ladies fidgeting with their corsets.  And I even heard church bells,

     Speaking of church bells.  Of course I  thought about these 40 days of lent, and how difficult it has been to practice the virtues we are called to practice. You know, Lent is commonly called The Penitent Season.  That is very fitting for me--- because as I have expressed in a previous blog---I'm having trouble.  My cry is "Father forgive me; Father, help me to do that which I am called.  

    

  In the Catholic tradition, we begin Lent with Ash Wednesday.  We go to church, are reminded by our Pastor why we are at church, and and then the penitents or parishioners gather in lines to receive something. This something is a symbol.  This symbol, however denotes a profound meaning for us church folks.  This symbol is a reminder of our death, our end...our own apocalypse.  

     It may seem morbid for some, but receiving the markings of ashes on our foreheads, one by one as the the words "remember...you are dust" were repeated, was a sacred experience for me. It reminded me of my utter dependence on God.  My Photographic opportunity, this haunting home, full of life once lived, just drove the point home.  With each photograph  I deeply pondered how short life is. 

Created by Light? Fascinated by the Shroud of Turin.

      Last night, I watched CNN's Finding Jesus. You can watch last night's episode at CNN. I was very impressed with the presentation, and although I despise obnoxious commercial breaks, I stuck around for the show. 
    The image on the Shroud has always been a part of my everyday life because I was raised Catholic and there was never a shortage of Catholic literature or imagery in my home, consequently, I took it for granted.
     But about 30 years ago, around the age of 20, I read a book about the Shroud of Turin, and I was convinced it was authentic. (For the life of me though, I cannot remember who wrote the book). However, a multitude of books exists if you want to learn more about the shroud.
     By the way, I love ordering books online, and my favorite book dealer is Alibris. They can find rare and out of print books for you. So if you are interested in reading about the Shroud of Turin, or another title, take a peek at the many great deals sold at the online store Alibris.
     This relic has probably been studied more than any other relic in the world, and rightly so, it could be the image of our savior, and the first known photograph, or at least it appears to be a photograph. And on last night's episode, CNN's Finding Jesus, the producers demonstrate just how it could have been done using a camera obscura and light.
     For me, a skeptic by nature, it is the real image of Christ, but I'm not here to try to convince anyone. When it comes to evangelizing, I'll share my faith, but I'll always revert to Jesus own words when sharing the gospel or anything related.
     In the 20th chapter of the gospel of John, vs. 29, "... Jesus [said], 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' Another favorite quote used by my mother during my most unbelieving years is by St. Thomas Aquinas: "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible".
     But back to the Shroud of Turin---let's look at the image on the shroud. It has bugged scientists for years. Even the most distinguished scientists can't figure out how the image got there, but they do feel certain that it was created by light in a photographic way. And that in itself is awe-inspiring.

     The history of the Shroud of Turin is down right captivating, especially for me as a photographer. I'm all too familiar with light sensitive materials used in the photographic process, and as an aside, I love asides, I would love to introduce you to the process, so please allow me to slip this cool site, Making a photograph, from the Smithsonian institute's National portrait gallery, into this blog.
     Alrighty, back to the Shroud and it's mysterious photographic properties. A concept that really enticed me in my youth was from the book about the Shroud that I read years ago. The author presented the fact that some scientists who have studied the shroud have introduced the cool notion of the similarities between the shroud image and the permanent shadows made when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII in 1945. Google it some time, it's very interesting.
     Both permanent images needed bursts of brilliant light to create the representations. I like to imagine the big bang as the same energy and burst of light as God's Holy Spirit spoke the universe into existence. 
    That same energy, God's brilliant and Holy light---was used to raise Jesus from the dead, and it left the permanent image of his brutally tortured body on the burial cloth---the shroud of Turin.
     Now Man, Jesus torturers, scripture tells us, is made in the image of God. But Man, who certainly seems evil by default---we Catholics call that original sin---sometimes uses his God given intelligence for the bad---hence war and destruction. Why is that? There are lots of paradoxes in the history of man. Perhaps I'll discuss that in another blog. Until then, I'll continue to be utterly fascinated by the Shroud of Turin.

     What's all this hype about blogging? What is blogging anyway? Would I enjoy blogging? These were questions I had asked myself after reading many interesting blogs and then feeling inspired to jump on board.
     This is my first blog---a blog about blogging. So here we go. Personally, I enjoy expressing myself in writing, so I'm sure I'll enjoy blogging. I'm learning as I go, and hopefully my blog will inspire you to learn to blog too.  I will have a lot to learn, so here goes.
     To answer the questions I began with--- let's define blogging. A quick look at Wikipedia says that the word "blog" comes from the the words "web" and "log." I love wikipedia by the way. It's always a good place to begin gathering information, and for now, it's free. You might want to help support this massive online encyclopedia.
     Now what? Just log into the web and start writing? Well, not exactly; however, it's not that complex since we already do this on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter etc.... But remember, blogging is a bit different. It's more creative in my opinion, and it's a place to share, hopefully, valuable and/or interesting information publicly.
     The first thing I did was--- you guessed it! Google it. And let me tell ya, there are many tutorials out there on blogging. Try it. But here's the first thing I learned about blogging. Ya gotta have something to write about. At first it seems a bit difficult, but it's not really.                      Everyone has a hobby, even if it's just sitting and thinking. You could write a blog on the importance of taking time to just sit and think, and you wouldn't have to go far to find resources.  Ancient philosophers have already written quite a bit on the subject.
I have decided that I am passionate about two things. I like a lot of things, but I'm passionate about only a couple of things.

God, in the Roman Catholic tradition,
and photography--- traditional and digital. It's an interesting notion too---since for me, both have to do with light. So that is what I am going to be regularly writing about, or rather blogging about. But for now, lets continue learning about the world of blogging.
     The second thing I learned when researching blogging is to have a site to blog on. Easy, so easy. This one is free, like many other great things Google has to offer.     You've probably already got a Google account, Google drive, Google docs, Gmail (email), Google+ etc.... And if you don't want to blog here, just Google the other million sites that host bloggers. And what's really exciting is that you can make a lot of money blogging.
     Now moving on to the next step---creating a pen name. I guess I could keep my real name, but that's no fun. Google blog site is great at helping! They guide you through the entire process. And again, if you have a facebook, you can have a blog site.  With some practice, we should get good at blogging.
     Think of your blog site as your very own magazine, or newsletter, or public journal.... Yes, I googled "blog titles" too. The title portion of Google blogging is self explanatory, but always feel free to use the wonderful world of Youtube, which by the way, also belongs to--- yes--- you guessed it--- Google. You won't be disappointed in the magnitude of blogging tutorials on Youtube.  Hey, here's an aside---I read a headline that asked if Google was dumbing us down? Probably, but that's an article for someone else.
     Moving right along. I chose SaltyLight as a pen name. It seemed fitting for the topics I am going to write about. Christians are called to be, metaphorically speaking, salt and light, so it's kind of a play on those words. I also enjoy photography as Lightwriter Photography if you are interested in my work.
    A quick look at Wikipedia, and we can learn the etymology of words. I've always been entertained by words. In fact, "The word 'photography' comes from the greek, literally translated as "writing with light" or "drawing with light."  So there ya have it. My very first blog. Until next time, happy writing, I mean web logging, I mean blogging.