STOP THE WORLD....!

 

Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!!

          Are any of you feeling this way?  I certainly am.  There have been songs, plays, and films based on that phrase. 

      Although I never saw the movie, I share the sentiment. Twenty-Twenty was full of many negative happenings.  This New Year did not start much better, based on the continued impact of the Coronavirus, and the beguiling things happening in the political world.

 

     Wikipedia offers the following information giving details of the picture. 

    The show, set against a circus backdrop, focuses on Littlechap from the moment of his birth until his death. Each time something unsatisfactory happens, he calls out 'Stop the world!' and addresses the audience. After being born, going through school, and finding work as a tea-boy, his first major step towards improving his lot is to marry his boss' daughter. Saddled with the responsibilities of a family, he is given a job in his father-in-law's factory.

Discontented Woman

Grumpy Kids

He has two daughters but truly longs for a son. He allows his growing dissatisfaction with his existence to lead him into the arms of various women —as he searches for something better than he has.  

Stars for You and Me

 

Stars, wondrous stars!       ✨

What do you feel when you look up at night?  Are you awed, inspired, or frustrated that we are so limited in our exploration of space!  Can you find the constellations?  Does it make you feel rather insignificant, or like you are one in a million? Perhaps a visit to a planetarium might prove an enjoyable outing. Or maybe you want to learn to take pictures of those wondrous stars. 

   I am enriched by all that the universe has to offer. Following are some of the treasures I discovered.    

   🎄  We are in the holiday season, with many people celebrating Christmas. Part of the story of Jesus’s birth includes an important star. Of course, Jesus is the most important star of Christians world wide!  Jesus Christ, Super Star!  was a musical written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber in the 70s.  It had great appeal with young people, and provided plenty of discussion among theologians.

          But I am referring to the Biblical narrative found in Matthew 2:1-2,  which tells of a star in the eastern sky that the wise men followed  to find the new baby.  They observed the heavens and understood the meaning of the new celestial orb.

          Astrologers and astronomers, physicists and geologists, study heavenly bodies, looking back eons of time to see the extremely distant light reaching us today.  Recently, there was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn making them appear extra bright in the evening sky. The universe is an busy place with all sorts of action going on: Stars being born and others dying, asteroids colliding, comets zooming around and matter everywhere!

    

Taken in Bermuda

Early explorers used constellations for navigation. Rulers consulted the seers about the projected future of their kings and  nation. Astrology is a big business. Many celebrities live their lives around their horescopes. Many newspapers include them, daily.

    Billions are spent to research the planets, and scientists circle overhead in the space station  discovering new information about our planet and solar system. 

💥                                                💫

Investigating the universe can be mind-boggling.  In addition to all of the visual phenomena, there are sounds out there-- even notes of music! Unfortunately, some are of a frequency inaccessible to our limited hearing. Yet, on a positive note, there is technology which can record it.

   I read an article that reported a sound was picked up from the depths of space, which happened to be  the musical note B flat. As a musician, I know that many instruments tune to B Flat or A.  I  was dumbfounded to learn that the whole universe resonates with that B flat, the standard for musicians to play in harmony.     🎹

And the colors filling space would need the richest artist's pallet to  reproduce it, accurately .     

   I am not very good at photographing stars. But some members of our photo club do great work mastering spectacular pictures of the heavens.

I do like to think about them. I was an avid Treckie and Star Wars fan. I am better at writing about my heavenly visions, and appreciate the work of the media to spark our imaginations. 

A former pastor mentioned in one of his sermons, that cliché that we are the "twinkle in our Daddy's eye", which provided inspiration for the following essay I composed:

 

When I look to the dark summer skies, I think I know how all those stars came to be.  Each child of God was a twinkle in His eye, before the universe was made. We were in His dreams before His plan became reality.   On the day of my birth, He took the sparkle that was for me from his eye, and placed it in the galaxy.

A special star shone brightly when Jesus was born. He was the twinkle in His Daddy’s eye.

As a child of God, and an equal heir, I know, I too, had a special birth star. For each of us a twinkle, for each of us a star!  I look into that night sky and wonder, which is the star of my nativity? Among the billions upon billions, there is no way to tell. I smile and realize that they are ALL my birth stars bringing God’s love and light to me, and to all mankind, the twinkles in God’s eye.

So, get busy. Look up!