I was reading an article this morning about an astroid that will be coming fairly close to us today. And although the headline was much more intense than the actual event (the purpose of headlines, of course) what interested me was how NASA actually measures distances.
This particular astroid will be approximately 0.03332 astronomical units (au) from the Earth or (put another way) approximately 12.97 Lunar Distances (LD). Close enough to be dubbed a “Near-Earth Object” (NEO).
Reading on I discover that an astronomical unit is the distance between the Earth and our Sun, and a Lunar Distance is the distance between the Earth and our Moon.
How else would we be able to understand what these vast distances mean if we didn’t relate them to our own Solar System?
On a much smaller scale this is how we understand the situations and events that enter our own orbits. We “measure” their impact based on our personal experiences. How else could we grasp them?
It never ceases to amaze me how true the saying “as above, so below” really is. Observations of the smallest things on our planet can easily be extrapolated to the larger Universe. Those observations (or natural laws) are pervasive throughout and can be studied, quantified, and applied.
And this is not just true about the physical world we live in. It’s true in our emotional, intellectual, and soulful world as well. This is something mankind has known from the beginning of our existence. It’s the basis of our religions and social constructs. It’s why we operate the way we do.
Love is the “au” of our relationships. Kindness is the “LD”. Both are known units of measurement in our human interactions. They are demonstrated by our words and deeds and ultimately they are how we measure the distance between us.
Spirituality for the Rest of Us 