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Made of Stardust

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
                           - William Blake

This week we got our first look at images from the James Webb Space Telescope. I have to admit I was pretty awe-struck by these images never seen before, of stars, nebulae, and galaxy clusters in this vast universe . . . and I’m not even a scientist! I can just imagine how excited the scientific community must be, as this marks a whole new chapter in exploration and discovery. The images show the birthplace of stars, where gases and dust swirl about bringing together the elements of life itself. To gain some perspective, one image is described on the NASA website “as a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.”


Looking into space, whether it’s stargazing in your own backyard, or examining images from a powerful telescope, gives us an interesting perspective on our own lives. We can feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but we can also be swept up in a moment of awe as we begin to realize we are looking into the beginnings of life, the stuff of which we are made. We are made of stardust, and to stardust we will return.


These images shed light on the intricacies and mysteries of creation and remind us of the sacredness of all things. We stand in awe and wonder. According to Abraham Heschel, one of America’s leading theologians and philosophers of the 20th century, “Awe enables us to perceive in the world intimations of the divine, to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple; to feel in the rush of the passing the stillness of the eternal.”

Images from the James Webb Telescope

https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages

Peace and joy,
Nancy