“Living is Easy with Eyes Closed.”
― John Lennon
“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin
I woke up today and watched the sun rising. The sky filled with beautiful shades of lilac and rose, then a brighter orange and pink. Finally the sun illuminated everything and the dark was vanquished for another day.
Thinking about the anniversary of the Mount St. Helen eruption and the day the skies went dark reminded me of September 11, 2001. The sky in New York went dark that day too. It was temporary though, horrible and life changing and scarring but still temporary.
It amazes me how much we take for granted. We find things to complain about even when all around us there is evidence that so much is going right. What if the sun didn’t shine today, or for a month, or a year? Interestingly enough, we are entering into what scientists call a Grand Solar Minimum. They knew it was coming, but don’t seem concerned about it.
Every 11 years or so, sunspots fade away, bringing a period of relative calm. “This is called solar minimum,” says Dean Pesnell of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. “And it’s a regular part of the sunspot cycle.” Of course, now some people are worried that we are going to have an ice age. Not true, say the experts.
From NASA’s climate division – “The warming caused by the greenhouse gas emissions from the human burning of fossil fuels is six times greater than the possible decades-long cooling from a prolonged Grand Solar Minimum. Even if a Grand Solar Minimum were to last a century, global temperatures would continue to warm. Because more factors than just variations in the Sun’s output change global temperatures on Earth, the most dominant of those today being the warming coming from human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.”
So, thank you global warming?
The Year We Will Always Remember – 2020, for many reasons, is a year that will go down in the history books. From the tragic death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, to the pandemic and the historic changes it has brought including the closing of borders and economic fallout, nothing about this year has been routine. And it’s not even June yet. What’s waiting on the other side? Maybe a quicker return to normal than we may have thought. Maybe not.
Travel has been impacted across the globe. Tourism is non-existent, and airlines are struggling to stay afloat. In an article from Forbes, Airlines Call for Uniform Rules as Air Travel Recovers, But Will Governments Agree?, several concerns are voiced that have no easy answers. “The airline association repeated its objections to more stringent measures that would negatively impact the financial viability of aviation, including quarantines and ‘social distancing’ requirements onboard aircraft which dampen demand and artificially reduce aircraft capacity.”
The need for unity across all countries regarding the rules affecting air travel will be challenging to achieve, to say the least. This is one sector that may have a very difficult time trying to figure out a new path.
Thought of the Day – Appreciate what is around you. From the birds singing, to the grass growing, to the sunsets and sunrises that colour every day, be aware of how magnificent the world is. Live from a place of gratitude and see how it changes your life instantly. Today can be anything you want it to be, in the cozy confines of your mind.
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.”
― John Lennon