Astronaut spends 178 days in space and warns of big lie on Earth that few are aware of

Imagine spending nearly six months floating above Earth, witnessing its beauty and fragility firsthand. That’s exactly what former NASA astronaut Ron Garan did, and his experiences have led him to a startling conclusion: humanity is living a “big lie.” Not what we’re used to hearing, right?

Earth and human priorities combined

During his 178 days in space, Garan experienced what’s known as the “overview effect,” a cognitive shift that occurs when astronauts view Earth from orbit. This perspective often leads to a profound sense of interconnectedness and a reevaluation of one’s priorities.

Listen to him for yourself on the Big Think.

Garan described, rather poetically, his view from the International Space Station.

“I saw the paparazzi-like flashes of lightning storms, dancing curtains of auroras that seemed so close it was as if we could reach out and touch them.”

But amidst this natural splendor, he was struck by the “unbelievable thinness of our planet’s atmosphere,” realizing that this delicate layer is all that protects every living thing on Earth.

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The lie that we’re living on Earth

From this vantage point, Garan observed an “iridescent biosphere teeming with life,” yet he couldn’t see the human-made constructs that dominate our lives, such as economies and borders. This led him to a sobering realization: “Since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the wholly owned subsidiary of the global economy, it’s obvious from the vantage point of space that we’re living a lie.”

In other words, Garan believes that by prioritizing economic systems over the health of our planet, we’re fundamentally misguided. He advocates for a paradigm shift.

“We need to move from thinking economy, society, planet to planet, society, economy. That’s when we’re going to continue our evolutionary process.”

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