Yesterday I celebrated the second anniversary of my move from the continent of North America to the continent of Europe. My mother came to visit (coincidentally, but it seemed appropriate). Nothing much else happened on the occasion. The bottle of sparkling wine I had bought stayed unopened in the refrigerator. Not that there was anything wrong, but it also wasn't exactly an Earth-shattering transition, and the simple fact of a visit from my mother was enough to move my attention firmly from the topic.
Now, late at night, I've had some time to think, and I thought of the following excerpt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M
From the perspective of essentially the entire universe, I moved only an infinitesimal distance. Even from within our own solar system, I moved over the tiniest fraction of a pixel, from a highly advanced camera specifically focused to find that particular point of blue light in the depths of space. I just celebrated that this little point has made two complete revolutions around the modest star that gives it life, since I made that nearly imperceptible move.
If anybody can instill a sense of humility in a person, it's Carl Sagan.
It does make me yearn to make a more perceptible move, though. Somehow. Sometime.
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