Creating a Bigger Circle: Lessons from the Artemis II Mission

This past week has been a stark juxtaposition of viewpoints. It was a week when I was reminded of Edwin Markham’s poem:

He drew a circle that shut me out—

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in.

Here on Earth, the U.S. President kept drawing smaller and smaller circles. Posts that threaten that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

And on a day that is sacred to Christians worldwide, this message:

“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell—JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

At the same time, hurtling through space was the Artemis II mission, with its crew of four—renewing our sense of wonder, showing what cooperation among nations can look like, and revealing the vast beauty of the universe. From space, there are no circles that divide us—only one shared home.

The U.S. President’s words and actions disrupted. They divided. They inflamed. The led an entire world to hope for the best while dreading the real possibility that something even more terrible was about to happen.

The crew of Artemis II spread hope and wonder. They reminded the world of both the beauty and magnificence of this globe we call home, and the vastness beyond it. Their images were much-needed reminders that we all share this planet—and it is, indeed, a beautiful place to be.

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A Higher Calling

The United States was founded on a bold promise:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

History tells us that living into this promise has been both difficult and uneven. Yet the striving to form a “more perfect union” has continued for nearly 250 years.

In a more perfect union, we would remember that we are all members of one human race, living on planet Earth—interconnected by air, water, and land.

What a welcome message that would be, especially in a time when there is so much rhetoric about “otherness.” Rhetoric that has fueled hatred, death, deportation, and desperation.

We are living in a country with far too much “us vs. them”:

Red vs. blue. Democrats vs. Republicans. Citizens vs. immigrants. Americans vs. Iranians. Christians vs. Muslims. Haves vs. have-nots.

This is a focus on differences, not similarities. A mindset that frames “different” as defective—as wrong, as a threat.

Truth be told, we have far more in common with one another—both within the U.S. and around the globe—than we do differences.

And let’s remember: differences can define us, but they do not have to divide us.

When we diminish others, we ignore our shared humanity. And with that diminishment comes the kind of conflict that fuels wars, deadlocks, and wasted energy—energy spent defending the status quo instead of creating a better future.

Lives and resources squandered on destruction rather than creation.

The stark truth is this: what hurts one, hurts all.

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The Choice Before Us

It feels as though we are at a tipping point.

We are engaged in wars over natural resources that belong to no one nation. We are becoming increasingly divided between those who have and those who do not. And we are failing to protect this beautiful Earth from which all life depends.

The interesting thing about tipping points is that they can go either way.

We might tip into war, chaos, hatred, violence, and hardship.

Or we might tip into respect, love, cooperation, and collaboration—into creating a world where all are valued and able to contribute.

Individually, none of us can force the fulcrum in a direction that honors all people. But collectively, we can influence it—drop by drop—until it begins to shift toward love, compassion, and care for one another and for the planet.

The prayer of St. Francis shows us the way:

I will be an instrument of peace;

Where there is hatred, I will sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

I will not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

So the question is not what the world will become— But in which direction will you and I help tip it?

This is the work of moving beyond ‘either/or’—and into a more whole way of being.”

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I’ll end with this beautiful Facebook post from Mama Bear, which both inspired this musing and helped put this week into perspective:

When you zoom out far enough…

the lines we draw between us disappear.

No borders.

No labels.

No “us vs. them.”

Just one breathtaking, fragile, shared home.

And yet here on the ground, we’re told to fear differences…

to judge who belongs…

to decide whose humanity counts more.

But from space?

There’s no debate.

We all belong.

Every LGBTQ+ person.

Every child trying to figure out who they are.

Every parent learning how to love bigger than they were taught.

We belong to each other.

So let’s live like it.

Let’s choose love over fear.

Connection over division.

Curiosity over judgment.

Because the truth is…

there’s room for all of us here.

And the world is more beautiful when we help everyone shine.

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