The Heavens Declare...

If you've never visited this site, you should definitely check it out:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Under the heading Astronomy Picture of the Day is this description of the site - "Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer."

Take some time to browse the archives. The site's sights are breathtaking. Powerful telescopes yield unbelievably detailed images of distant galaxies and other cosmic phenomena. Robotic explorers provide startling images of our solar system.

If, like me, you hold or even lean toward belief in some version of intelligent design behind the universe, you'll marvel at the revelation of that intelligence and creativity. I even fancy that the Creator enjoys the chance to show off what He has made. I almost picture Him tapping His foot while He waits impatiently for mankind to develop the technology to see and record it properly.

My experience of the daily astronomical photo has evolved over the years. At first it seemed that every day provided a jaw-dropping, eye-popping peek into the very mind of God Himself. Over time that initial breathlessness slowly faded almost to indifference - ho-hum, another reflection nebula. Images of Mars' surface, taken by one of the rovers or an orbiter, still caught my attention, as did photographs of Saturn and its moons, sent from Cassini. But the grandeur of huge, swirling spirals of stars no longer moved me as before.

Not that I failed to recognize the greatness of the heavens and of the Creator. I just found that I couldn't sit and stare as I did before. It was as though I knew what was coming and chose not to take the time to experience it again.

Then guilt set in. "Familiarity breeds contempt," said one of those voices in my head. Could it be true? Luckily for me the dictionary defines contempt in much stronger words than I would have used to define my feelings. It wasn't that I actively despised the daily pictures; they simply affected me less intensely than before. But is numbness better than outright contempt?

This is one of those questions that sounds deserving of a resounding "No!" But maybe a finite being, faced over and over again with the infinite power and creativity displayed in the heavens, simply cannot take it all in, even over time. Perhaps the "numbness" that I've experienced is really a mechanism for self-preservation.

Or possibly I am experiencing a spiritual counterpart to the ability of the physical body to adapt to exercise routines. With repetition, the body can "learn" to perform an activity more efficiently, thus reducing the effectiveness of that exercise in building muscle or burning energy. Could it be the same with spiritual activities? Is it conceivable that engaging in a spiritual exercise day after day might actually make us so "good" at it that we no longer find it challenging?

Whatever the answer, I sort of miss the "oooos and ahhhhhs" of spiral galaxies, cosmic dust-clouds, and the like. On the other hand, it still amazes me that there are volcanoes on Io.