Gratitude – Day 42 For most of my life I’ve had a fascination with things astronomical; one of my childhood treasures was a book on radio astronomy. It featured the great fixed radio telescope at Jodrell Bank in the UK and the world’s largest steerable telescope at Green Bank, WV. Several years ago I had opportunity to visit Green Bank and roam around the vast facility quite unattended, surprising in the aftermath of 9/11. I was asked to agree to not use a digital camera within two miles of the telescopes. These telescopes are so sensitive that the incredibly small power burst generated in a digital camera exposure is enough to destroy data being collected by the telescopes. There’s no cell phone service or wireless internet in the Green Bank area. Green Bank WV may be the quietest region in the 48 states. Even spark plugs in combustion engines give off too much energy and old diesel trucks, sans spark plugs, are used on the facility grounds to eliminate these erroneous signals. In a world frantically over stimulated in countless ways, there was something pristine and satisfying about being in a place with no cell phones, no wi-fi, no digital cameras. One is fully present in this place devoid of electronic noise. With the profound electronic silence, it’s hoped we might hear the tapping on the hull suggestive of life in a distant galaxy. Radio signals might inform astronomers about the origins of the universe. • I am grateful for refreshing silence seasoning my periods of solitude. In the quiet I’m able to hear the still small voice of the One who created the heavens. • I am grateful for tranquility and peace available to me when I simply turn off those things over stimulating my life. The silence of a cold winter sky speaks loudly of serenity to be found in being still. • I am grateful for a life often lived unplugged. Much of the time I feel plugged into the greatest Source of power in the known universe.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 03:23:24 +0000
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