My first glimpse of the pictures taken by the James Webb telescope brought me to tears. I was overwhelmed, perhaps you were as well. Subsequent peeks at these magnificent photos have had the same effect.
Imagine, we are peering back in time over 13 billion years! Seeing long after the fact the birth of stars and the apparent clash and early demise of galaxies.
I frequently talk and write about eternity in my work – the concept of time with no beginning, with no end. Often, I sense that the word falls short of the grandness it represents. The Webb telescope photos gave this word texture and depth in a way that often evades its utterance. The photos are mesmerizing in their beauty and in the thoughts of our eternal journey that they prompt.
When I thought about my emotional reaction to the photos, I realized that it wasn’t the images that brought me to tears. It was something more important and more special. It was God – the Creator Source.
Very few comprehend God, I mean truly understand. We assign attributes to grasp in human terms the grandness of this incomprehensible force. Islam has assigned ninety-nine names for as many attributes, one more beautiful than the next.
We pray to God but how many of us believe that we are hearing back or having a two-way conversation with Her and Him. By the way, thousands of years before it would be considered politically correct, Hindu theology recognized the source of all that is as the Divine Feminine and the Divine Masculine.
But back to my response to the photos.
Through my meditation practice, I have worked to connect more deeply with God. Too often, it has been a frustrating experience limited by my inability to comprehend a force that is at once creative and powerful enough to have birthed all life while concurrently loving and compassionate. I have struggled with the idea of God knowing that human words and concepts are comparable to those in a children’s story book.
My reaction to the Webb photos was pure emotion. The photos connected me to God in a deeply emotional way. In a way that I seek but too infrequently achieve.
I wonder if this gulf between God and humanity not only reflects our incomprehension but causes people to turn away. If it does, then looking for more ways or better ways to experience God is a good idea. One that I think would eventually yield great results.
In recent months, we have heard many people lament that the people committing grave violence have lost their minds. I hold a different view – I think that they have lost their souls’ connection to the Divine and their own divine essence.
Going forward I will continue to look for more moments when I can feel God as well as think about and talk with Her. Perhaps like me, you agree that the reward that awaits is worth persistent effort. If so, I encourage you to not give up and any time you can, take a few minutes to look up into the star filled sky or at the Webb photos. God is there, smiling and looking back. . .
Joanne
