It is hard to believe that this picture was taken 50 years ago during the Apollo 8 mission to circle the Moon, December 24, 1968. In the words recited by the crew from the Bible – In the Beginning, G-d created the Heaven and the Earth… Most people alive back then were glued to their televisions. I was a wonderful end to a year which saw the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy and the upheaval of the Vietnam War.

For many, this iconic picture made a deep emotional impression on them, myself included. I can remember thinking this is our home. Not only is it beautiful but it looks to be very fragile. I was newly engaged to be married and my wife to be and I were on the living room floor watching the TV. I looked at her and thought she was not only beautiful but fragile and I better treat her right. The next thought was to feel the same tenderness toward my Earthly Home.

In looking at this picture, my mind did not leap toward environmental concerns but purely human concerns that in the grand scheme of the Cosmos, not only is Earth insignificant but any and all differences between the humanity that lived there was insignificant. I took a moment to remember back to my time at Groveland Elementary School. I can remember being teased because of my red hair and my crutches. Yet even at age 12 I can remember looking at the photo our the 6th grade graduating Class – we all looked pretty much alike. Some were taller, some were fatter, some were male and some were female yet everyone had a look of anticipation on their faces for the Junior High School to come that made the rest of their differences disappear in the photo.

Looking at this Earthrise photo, I have the same feelings as I did looking at the 6th grade photo. Everyone on this planet may have some differences but when looked at in the whole, those differences disappear. We are all on the same ship sailing through the Cosmos and we are going to “sink or swim” together.