This place can tend to become all trees and no forest, if you catch my drift. So, Dopers… Go on… what that thing, or even things that has captured your imagination so profound, perhaps since you were so young, you couldn’t even understand it, but it took root in you and has and always will continue to be a source of awe, mystery, beauty, fascination, inspiration and perhaps even motivation.
What that fundamental thing or idea that has you in its grips, and you wish you could indulge in it or share it with others far more often that you probably ever do.
Black metal music. Seriously. My sister had some records when I was a kid – I heard them, and that was it. Been a complete sucker for it ever since, gives me goosebumps every damn time – but the thing is, it goes way beyond just “really digging the music.” I close my eyes and see it all – the creation and destruction of the entire cosmos.
I try to avoid thinking about how big the universe is. Our largest city- hell, our entire planet- is less than a speck compared to even just our galaxy.
More generally, the human brain. Emotion, reason, behavior, language, movement, imagination, personality, problem solving, survival… everything in our universe is contained within this relatively small, squishy structure inside our skulls. Everything from the most basic fight or flight instinct to the need to ponder questions like those given in the OP. And when things aren’t working properly… damn. Colorless green ideas sure do sleep furiously. Absolutely, endlessly, utterly fascinating.
Engaged, fascinated, and learning at a rate that entirely blows my mind. Watch any child under six months for five minutes, and you will see discovery happen. You will watch learning. And when they get tired, they go to sleep. And wake up and start again.
I just came back from a 1 week canoe trip out in Algonquin park. One thing I always looking forward to stargazing at night on these trips. This past trip I could see the milkway and was witness to something I’ve never seen before. As I watch the horizon and the stars overhead we were witness to a slow rolling skyscape of constellations moving over us. Then we realized what we were experiencing was the earth turning on it’s axis. We also saw tons of satellites and shooting stars.
What he said. I can sit on my front deck and see the Milky Way and feel the immensity of the Universe. What all is out there I wonder. What wonderful things are out there. . . . . .
Horses. I think they are the most perfectly beautiful creatures ever. Powerful graceful, they are living works of art. I can be literally moved to tears watching them.
Just the immensity of it all. I am a librarian in a middle school. Early in my career, I decided I wanted to put a scale model of our solar system up. HA!! No freaking way. Even to just make it fit into the (good sized) library, the sun is like the size of this smilie: and the planets would be microscopic. It would be a really underwhelming model.
Not stars and satellites and meteors (pretty cool, though), but just weather.
Clouds. Sunsets. Rainbows. It sounds mushy and sentimental, but toss in a Nor’easter or a tornado - or even that astonishing effect when the setting sun shines under the cloud cover -
and the planets would be microscopic. It would be a really underwhelming model.