Summer Solstice, part 2

I had some further thoughts on summer solstice late into the night yesterday as I watched a livestream of sunrise at Stonehenge. I just kinda stumbled upon the stream when I was winding down a bit after a busy day and wanted to watch something on youtube. It was the perfect way to end the evening.

(screenshots from https://www.youtube.com/live/Z8a4eoxUIMw)

 

 

There really is something to the idea that the sun is a god; it's just not a god concerned with the events of human life, however.

 

From a scientific standpoint, it's a god in the sense that it's this massive life-giving force that just IS. 

 

And without it, we would not exist.  

When I was very little and still believed in god, I had a similar experience & sense of wonder for both god and science stuff like astronomy. I kept the feelings of spirituality about science and the need for human customs & rituals, but left religious dogma stuff by the wayside by the time I got to high school. 

As much as humanity sucks sometimes, it's still so, so, so, fucking cool that people come together to celebrate similar events like this, and have done so for the entire history of the human race on this planet. In all cultures in all eras, people do stuff like this. They gather for a big important shared experience. They sing, drum, dance, laugh, exist together in joy & celebration, even if only for a brief time. 

The collective cheer that rang out when the sun finally rose was incredible, even just watching remotely. Moments like this are what life is all about.

Happy solstice!!