Letter 101 - Do You Know Why You Can See Them??
Hello Bregdan Woman,
You have Ginny today…
I have a question for you... Have you ever wondered why you can see satellites orbiting the earth? I didn’t even think to wonder for many decades!
One of my favorite memories comes from when I was in my 20’s (more than a few years ago!). There is a place in the North Carolina mountains called Eagle Rock. I loved it there so much. I went up one afternoon, alone, with a plan to spend the night. I wasn’t “camping” because there was no way to set up a tent on the rock outcropping. I took food, a thermos full of hot chocolate, my sleeping bag, and another blanket to protect me against the cold winter night.
I crawled into my sleeping bag, pulled the blanket on top of me, using a portion of it to cushion my head, and stared up into the heavens.
40 years ago, it wasn’t common to see satellites. You had to stare up into the sky, watching for the “moving star”, hoping you would be lucky enough to catch sight of one.
Consider the fact that there were only 145 active satellites in 1982 (when I was perched on Eagle Rock).
Today? There are over 11,000! Yep. You read that right. It’s getting pretty crowded up there!
I spent the night watching for satellites - being treated to a handful of “shooting stars” in addition. The Milky Way was glowing that night. It was glorious! I don’t remember how many satellites I saw, but it wasn’t that many. Still, each one was an exciting discovery.
Now, when I am in my hot tub in the morning gazing up at the sky, satellites are everywhere. That does not, however, tell you why you can see them.
I finally thought to ask that question one morning, so I decided to do some research.
You can see satellites because they are high enough above the earth (where you are sitting in darkness) to catch the reflection of the sun.
WOW!
Satellites don’t produce their own light: The light you see is sunlight bouncing off the satellite’s surface, particularly its solar panels. You see them for a few hours after sunset and a few hours before sunrise - that’s when they will catch the reflection of the sun.
Cool! I love astronomy (the lessons that the sky reveals). It’s more than that to me, though.
As I pondered that knowledge the next morning, something struck me. There are so many crazy things going on in our world right now – really, throughout all of history. There is so much darkness. So many people hurting. Far too many people feeling they are wrapped in a darkness they can’t escape.
The question exploded in my mind...
How do I get high enough above the darkness to catch the light???
I’ve been pondering this for a while now. I am of the opinion that just about everything in our lives holds a lesson. It’s been fun to explore this...
Here’s some “Science Speak”:
Satellites get high enough to catch the sun’s rays by being launched into specific orbits by using a powerful rocket to give them initial speed. Once in orbit, gravity and the satellite’s forward momentum keep it moving around Earth at a high enough altitude to be above the dense part of the atmosphere. This allows them to access consistent sunlight and avoid atmospheric drag, with a satellite’s onboard propulsion systems used for “station keeping” to maintain its orbit and position.
Okay, that is the scientific explanation. How does that apply to my life?
To YOUR life as a Bregdan Woman?
** Launching into orbit: A rocket provides the initial high speed and altitude to get the satellite into space.
Okay…
I want to be launched high enough to escape the darkness and bask in the light. Yes, in case you’re wondering if I’m losing it, I’m aware I cannot actually be launched into orbit 22 miles above earth! 😊 We’re speaking metaphorically here…
How do I get high enough above the darkness to bask in the light?
How do YOU get high enough above the darkness to bask in the light?
What is my rocket? Several things, I suppose:
I spend a lot of time alone – Listening. What do I listen to? Some call it God. Some call it the Universe. Some call it Mother Nature. Others will have a different name. I don’t believe what you call it matters – the fact that you quiet your mind and heart enough to hear from something much bigger than you are is what matters.
I am constantly learning from people who live at a level higher than most mere mortals. I research their lives. I learn from them. I am challenged by them. I am motivated and inspired by them. I learn how they did things that reflected the light when their world was encased in darkness. I’ve been doing this for decades. I will never stop! Every person I learn about makes me a better person.
But ultimately… my rocket is my CHOICE. I believe I can CHOOSE to rise above the darkness. I believe I can CHOOSE to live a life that reflects the sun.
Even as I write this, I realize how vague it sounds. I hear your voice. Yeah, right Ginny. Listen. Learn. Choose. What am I supposed to DO?
The truth is that there isn’t a simple formula that will work for everyone. There isn’t a plan that you can follow for guaranteed results. I wish it was that simple. It’s not.
I can only tell you what I do. Every morning, whether I am in my hot tub (yeah, I know most of you don’t have that!), sitting outside (perhaps you’ll stare out a window or into a fireplace), or writing in my journal, I speak what I call “My Truths”.
God, thank you for filling me with your love, and your light, and your life. With your wisdom and with your power. With truth and with joy. With ultimate health and with clarity of mind.
I pray that you will live through me. Love through me. Write through me. Speak through me. Create through me. Reach the world through me. And change lives through me.
Every single day, I CHOOSE to propel myself above the darkness and lift high enough to find the light. I CHOOSE to lift high enough that I can be a “satellite” – a reflection of light for others to see and be inspired by.
You are welcome to share “My Truths” or create ones of your own.
Here’s the thing, though… It’s not enough to speak them once.
You have to CHOOSE on a daily basis.
Or hourly… whatever you need to rocket yourself out of your own darkness.
Another scientific fact:
Maintaining orbit: Even in orbit, satellites can lose altitude due to the thin atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit (LEO) and need periodic boosts from their own propulsion to stay in place.
Yep. You can start a freefall back to the darkness unless you CHOOSE to stay high enough to live in the light.
That’s why you have to CHOOSE on a DAILY BASIS. Why you have to ignite your rocket on a daily basis.
We all know how easy it is to be sucked back into the hard things in life. Sucked back into inactivity. Sucked back into depression. Sucked back into the belief that your life will never be different than what it is. Sucked back into the darkness you see everywhere.
I hear from so many people who have lost hope. It breaks my heart. HOPE IS REAL. It is there for you.
Repeat after me…
God, thank you for filling me with your love, and your light, and your life. With your wisdom and with your power. With truth and with joy. With ultimate health and with clarity of mind.
I pray that you will live through me. Love through me. Create through me. Reach the world through me. And change lives through me.
Repeat it… Today. Tomorrow. The next day. The next day. And with every day that follows.
Your life will change only by you choosing to ignite your rocket and propel yourself above the darkness – becoming a satellite that will reflect the light of the sun!
I believe that as a Bregdan Woman, you will make that choice. I’m with you!
*****************************
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This passage does speak to me on a very deep level. My grown children have taught me to open my heart and mind and even my spirituality to those outside my social circles of origin.In fact I have had to reorient myself into where I felt I belonged many times on this life journey. I have a very mixed and beautiful family. I married a South Texas Hispanic man about 50 yrs. Ago. I grew up in Dallas in a bible belt southern baptist home. My husband grew up in a poor immigrant family. He and his older sister were first generation US citizens. He picked cotton along with other family members as a child. They were deeply Catholic. Both families were concerned about our union. We met when he was in Med school and I a young nurse. We had 3 children. They have extended the borders of our family in many areas. My oldest son married a Hindu woman whose parents also migrated here to go to med. school. They are among the kindest people I have ever met. My daughter is the "bread winner" of her family and her husband has mostly stayed home to raise their daughters. The flip-side of the traditional marriage. My youngest SON, 40, is gay and has a partner that is a shining light to us all. One of my teenage granddaughters is lesbian. She is dearly loved and supported by us all. All 3 of my granddaughters are kind, bright and full of positive life energy. I guess I am saying that I have a very mixed race, mixed sexuality, mixed religions, mixed many things family. A microcosm of what this country is. And I could brag on each of them until I was breathless and wore you out. But, my heart has been hurting for a long time. My great-grandfather was rumored to be a member of the KKK although he had a sweet, gentle character and was a country preacher in NE Texas. Dallas was a Jim Crow hot bed when I growing up in the 50s and 60s. Even as a child none of this sat right in my soul. As an adult I have overheard conversations from other white mama PTA peers that my children were unfairly going to take the places in universities that rightfully belonged to their kids. I have lived my life trying to enlighten people as I too was being enlightened. But the current state of affairs in this country is giving me pause and I have to daily fight to remain hopeful. I am going to pick up the Bregdan Chronicles again. My mother and I were reading it together and had many rich discussions while I was assisting her in her final years. She died in 2020. She was ready to meet her Jesus with a smile on her face. But, those times we had our discussions have given me some of the sweetest and richest memories of that season of her life. My exposure to the many challenges and dangers that nonwhite, poor, LGTBQ, and all women have faced has been near and far, impersonal and personal. I have really been living my second half of life trying to represent a kinder, more just, open minded person. i heard the expression about a white lady being called "a Karen" not too long ago. I have had some very lovely friends maned Karen. But this Characterization is one I am trying to be the "anti- Karen". Thank you for your writings and sharing your whole heart soul and mind. You help remind us that we are not on this life journey alone. We can face the good, the bad and the ugly together. We can use this to do better, be better, love better.
Thank you for this inspiring post. I know how you feel about humanity through your chronicles and by your thorough research to provide the truth about the good, the bad and the ugly. I, like you, have a measure of privilege to make the choice day by day to remain in an orbit that can reflect the light. You also have a deep empathic nature. I am a 72 yo white woman. I carry a very guilty conscious in my awareness that it has been my own people who have contributed to horrific misery and barely survivable living conditions for those fellow humans who look, speak, dress, etc. differently than ourselves. It is that empathic awareness that acts as my gravitational pull out of my orbit. I am acutely aware that my life will remain relatively unchanged for the duration of my because of my privileged landing upon this earth. But, my heart is hurting for those who happened to land in a different place. Not because of who they are, but because of who I have been in thinking I am superior. And, not Superior alone but in the collective beliefs and behaviors of those who look like me. I believe there is a disordering that will continue until we have unraveled and broken long held systems to the point they can be obliterated or reordered into something much more wholesome, and life affirming to all humankind. I believe you, Ginny, have been a light that has shined a necessarily upon the evils of mankind's actions toward our fellow bothers and sisters. But I also think that has come from a place of compassion and courage. A knowing that bringing to life wonderful characters that carry the lessons through your story telling can open eyes and hearts of women like myself. I knew some of the facts. But it is so much more compelling and life changing in applying the stories of our collective history into relatable stories. You have been and still are a light that shines truth, hope and love onto others. I am sure your light came through your own openness to feel the pain of others, share your pain and then believe in the goodness that still lies within each of us to do better.