The Hubble and a Milestone for Boyer Writes
Photographed by Hubble
October, 2009 was the first day I began a blog that was to be called simply, Boyer Writes. This October, 2011 is the beginning of three years and my stats tell me that over 17,000 people from around the world have logged on Boyer Writes either out of curiosity or to seriously read. (Update to this blog: It is now 2017 and many words later and more followers, I continue to write…and love it!)
My idea was categories that were educational and varied. Music, the Arts, History, Cultures, and perhaps most of all… Inspirational was my goal. It would not fit everyone’s taste. It would not matter if people liked it or not. I did not put a lot of stock in whether people responded to the writings. However, I did find that the favorable emails and comments helped spur me on to more creativity. People began sending me videos and thoughts to share along with my words. A thank you to all those who knew I would love what you sent. Often I tried to incorporate them where it was appropriate. Sometimes, especially when it was political or not in the best of taste, my discretion seemed to whisper, ” This is not what Boyer Writes is all about.”
I often get up in the middle of the night with a thought that just won’t go away. I write and my husband says the next morning, ” You were up again…weren’t you?”
Yes, I was up again and sometimes I pray over the words and sometimes I just laugh. As a Christian, I believe that the sleepless hour is the time that the Spirit of God comes and says, “I can finally get your attention. I have a thought for you. Get it before it is gone and just write!”
To be able to express one’s self is a joy that brings a type of contentment. The nice thing about sending out the Boyer Writes notices that another writing is on the way, is that a person has the option to read or not to read. I have the option to write or not to write. Isn’t freedom of choice a great thing?
Is anything I write earth shattering or just “out of this universe” ? Of course not, but I am an educator and once an educator…perhaps always an educator. I think maybe I have something in common with the Hubble telescope. You ask, “How can that be?”
- I feel that I have a mission. Hubble was sent out with a mission. It was to explore the universe and return information and pictures. It had the ability to see where no man had seen.
- I believe I am being sent out through cyberspace to a world that I do not know. I think people sit down to their computer to explore. They are looking for something to read that will be meaningful.
- The scientists who developed Hubble had to use trial and error, researching how to make this telescope that would bring a window to the universe back to the world. I also found in my writing that I had to research and even more so, to rewrite. I learned how to dig for the details of a subject; to be as correct as possible.
- Revision is important in any project. Technology is no different. There was a time when Hubble’s pictures did not show images clearly, being somewhat fuzzy. How easy it is to be unclear…but revision is possible if one works at it. After astronauts were sent to add better equipment to Hubble, focus was made correct and it was relaying a stunning universe to the earth as it was intended. It is clarity that I hope for and the inspiration that I long for.
- Hubble helped scientists look at Black Holes that are star devouring parts of the universe. Sometimes, I, too, find I have a black hole within my life that made it difficult to write. This dark place for me has been the loss of a relationship with a son and the death of my mother. The writings almost came to a halt because I felt swallowed up by these events. Nevertheless, I know that these black holes bring me better understanding of things my readers may be experiencing. It was just a matter of “climbing back on the bicycle” and going once more. Life does not stand still and neither does the universe. New stars are being born…the comets speed to their destination and the planets make their orbits.
- Hubble lets us know more about our sun, the planets, and the galaxies. I simply want to know more…period.
How small a speck are we in the great scheme of things. I wonder at the universe. Are there beings fighting out there like we are on the earth? Are there greater beauties that our eyes have never seen? Are there places where God will eventually show us? Are our loved ones, who are no longer here, experiencing this even now?
Some speculate that there will be the greatest of sun flares in 2012 and that a large unknown object is rushing toward the earth…moving at terrific speeds. As it goes by us , all the continents will collide leaving mass destruction! Well, that should make us all want to get out of the bed in the morning.
Do I understand astronomy or astrophysics? No, but I understand that the universe has been wonderfully made and even though I am only a tiny part of it… I am part. Whatever ability I have, I want to continue to develop.
Perhaps after more than two hundred writings, I will have made some difference to those who read and contemplate. Does Boyer Writes have an impact like others…the famous writers of history or in the 21st century? I would say, ” Of course not!” Does that matter? No, if only one person has enjoyed these writings and looks forward to what may be next, it is all that I can expect. It is like looking up in the sky to the millions of stars. Once in a while, we focus on a small one and find it interesting.
- Hubble and I will finally run our courses. A new telescope, the James Webb telescope, will be looking at our universe with new eyes in 2014 if our government supports it. Somewhere out there, people will decide to begin a blog because they believe that it can make a difference…if only to themselves. They may help people look at things with new eyes.
In the mean time, I will roll out of bed, get a snack, and start writing toward another milestone. That is, unless a sun flare happens.
Thanks for being my reader. Nancy Boyer
BOYER WRITES 