That Time I Received Actual Out-of-this-World Inspiration
Given the work I do, the spirit and values of human connection, belonging, and engagement are never far from my mind (my husband assures me this makes me a blast at dinner parties…). I speak to people every day who are devoted to making our world a better place — and am continually energized by the passion and commitment of people from all walks of life that come together around that shared goal. Recently, that inspiration came from an unlikely source: outer space.
Ron Garan, NASA astronaut and former US Air Force fighter pilot, shared a story at the Unrig the System Summit about a moment that changed human history — and his own perspective — forever.
On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed space station to orbit around the moon. Just a few days later, on Christmas Eve, as the station glided up from behind the moon, the astronauts on board saw something that had never before been seen with human eyes: planet earth coming into view over the lunar horizon.
That day, Commander Frank Borman, and pilots William Anders and James Lovell became the first human beings ever to see the earth from that vantage point: hanging there in the blackness of space. The image of this moment has become known as “Earth Rise,” and is perhaps one of the most influential photos ever taken — a quiet pronouncement that all Earth’s inhabitants share a common existence and future.
When Ron made his own journeys into space a few decades later, he says being physically detached from the earth in the distance of space made him feel even more deeply connected with everyone on our planet. In 2011, Ron lived and worked on the Soyuz International Space Station, which he described as perhaps the most incredible human accomplishment to date: floating 240 miles above the earth’s surface, the space station represented not only a technological marvel in its complexity, but a powerful example of cooperation. Fifteen nations collaborated in the creation of this structure — nations that had been on opposite sides of the Cold War and the “Space Race” — nations that had fought wars against each other, but were able to set aside differences to build together.
Ron was a fully integrated member of a Russian team of astronauts — and distinctly remembers the day the expedition took off from earth: he looked up and saw Russian and American flags side by side, a symbol that affected him deeply, having served as a fighter pilot in the Cold War. In the 2-dimensional war world of “us vs. them,” Ron trained to fight what was then our country’s most menacing enemy — someone with whom he was now on a shared human mission.
This antagonistic worldview still permeates much of our world today, with the help of 2-dimensional images (such as maps) that cannot possibly reflect entire, complex perspectives or vantage points, they reduce us to forced ideologies, boundaries and constraints. Flat images provide limited perspectives that are not sufficient guideposts for our actions today. Better guideposts, he says, are ones like Earth Rise that show true reality, boundless possibilities, and more interdependent perspectives.
When Ron looked back at earth from space, he described a deep belief that, despite all the challenges facing our planet today, we already have the resources, technology, and potential to solve them. The problem, he says, is that our political decisions are currently based on the 2-dimensional maps and images.
“In order for humanity to progress and prosper, we need to deal with the very real problems we face in the context of the real world. We need to build a future based on the image of Earth Rise,” he said. A future based on the three pillars of that image: interdependence, long-term thinking, and profound collaboration — all stemming from the empathy and compassion that come from a sense of a shared future. A sense that we’re really in this together.
I was admittedly surprised at how powerful and resonant I found an astronauts’ story about space travel as they relate to human condition and politics in everyday life. Today, we all face a growing sense that the divisions and challenges we face — in our communities and the world — are grander and more daunting than humanity has ever known. In some respects, that may be true, but Ron’s story provides powerful reminders of where we’ve been before and how we might get through now.
We’re at a critical point, a fork in the road. We can choose to continue down the 2-dimensional, “us vs. them” path we’re on, which likely leads toward more nationalism and tribalism. Or, we can chart a path founded with the potential to bring us into a restorative vision of a shared home. In Ron’s words, “Our definition of that word ‘home’ has profound implications for how we problem solve, how we treat our planet and how we treat each other. And broadening our definition of the word ‘home’ doesn’t come with it a requirement to abandon where we came from — our political, cultural affinities — it simply means looking at all those things in the context of the bigger picture.”
At PACE, the people we work with every day have already committed to being civic actors and forces for good in a world we all call home. While PACE and its members are focused primarily on the challenges we face in the United States, it’s undeniable that the conflict and division we face in our communities manifest nationally and, indeed globally. And while conflict and division often seem to reinforce differences that keep us apart, a reminder of our shared home can serve as a powerful reminder of what brings us together.
See below for Ron Garan’s full presentation at the Unrig the System Summit:
