Our Youth Group this past month spent some time talking about the idea of the “overview effect.” It’s what happens when astronauts see the earth from outer space. Almost universally, this experience has been said to be absolutely transformative––a spiritual experience that reshapes how these explorers of the unknown see the world when they look back at it.

But, rocket ship rentals are hard to come by, so trying to gain a more “bird’s eye” view was our approach. There’s a video for this that I love, which leads to some great questions for our own overview effect, not from a great height above the earth, but from a great historical distance. What does it mean to think of ourselves as the outcome of 2,000 years of history? Of 10,000 years? Of evolutionary processes? Of the formulation of our planet, our universe and all the matter in it?

Sometimes it is hard to tap into our spiritual selves or find time to nurture our creativity and intellectual curiosity. Here is a section that reflects on some nourishing materials from around the web and related media channels in order to get us thinking, get us feeling, and get us reflecting on the lives we are living in this big world. **Some Adult/Mature Themes May Appear in Links and Other Attached Material**

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Allan T. Georgia, MDiv, MTS, PhD

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