Moon Buggy

There was a time when it was considered unusual to tour the moon. Back then, a moon buggy was a ramshackle affair. Rather slow over the terrain, with a design that left its passengers exposed to the elements, or, rather, the lack of them. As I'm sure you can appreciate, today's moon buggy is far more comfortable, luxurious even. Feel free to recline your seat, so you can get the best view from our panoramic all-around moonroof. Enjoy the vista of white mountains in the distance, the vast plain of silver dust, and the foreshortened horizon giving way to the black expanse of space peppered with stars. I spend more time up here than most, and even I never get bored of it. I know you're keen to get started, but before we do, let's do a little wind down exercise to put you in the right space to enjoy all there is to see here. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you're ready, let's begin. First, get comfortable in your bed. Now just bringing the attention to the breath, just noticing where you feel it, in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We're going to be taking a deep breath in for four, holding it for four and then breathing out for six. So, are you ready? Let's begin. In for four, two, three, four. Hold it for four, two, three, four. Breathing out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. Great. Now returning the breath to normal. There. Do you see it? It looks almost like a blue sun peeking into view over the horizon. The earth is rising. It's a surreal sight, to be sure, but I can't help thinking it's good for a person to see that cheerful blue globe in the context of everything around it. Space is so very empty. Our closest star is the sun, and after the sun, the next nearest star is 4.3 light years away. How unlikely that life found a foothold amidst all this nothingness. Some call it earthrise, but it's just another way that being on the moon makes everything, even language, insufficient. A blue marble or a snow dome, all the comparisons are inaccurate, because how can there be one word for a view that contains all words? To see, at a glance, the earth. Most of the time we're down there and now we're up here looking down. You might think that it would make you feel God-like, but oddly enough, I find the experience humbling. It shows us just how out of proportion all our...