The Beauty of Achievement
by Jonathan Quince
Tuesday, February 1, 2005 08:53:45
This page is dedicated to preserving the memory of the crew aboard Columbia flight STS-107. The shuttle Columbia broke up during atmospheric reentry on the morning of February 1, 2003.
Few numbered amongst the peoples of mankind may, in their lifetimes, leap forth and fly freely through the heavens. Few, indeed, will dare to touch the stars. Still less amongst them can face the enormity of the Universe with a calm and steadfast eye, becoming master by worship of all Nature’s tremendous and complex beauty.
Few of those called “human” can verily appreciate the true presence of beauty.
Fear and awe may ride the same axis of human emotions; yet no greater awe is there than that obeisance made by the steadfast man. Arrogance sparkles in the eyes of those precious giants of the soul who are possessed of the vision to see beauty and beauty true; for beauty naked and utterly revealed may strike terror into the hearts of those whose spirits are too meager to rise to beauty’s challenge.
And when found frolicking in human company, beauty dances a timeless duet with the wonder of human achievement.
No greater worship of Nature may be found than by the studious mastery of Her physical laws; and no greater beauty may spring from a human hand than that which challenges man’s evolutionary roots and seeks to raise both creation and creator to a higher plane of existence.
The lives and works of mankind offer bountiful ways to invite beauty forth both in form and by action. Expressions of the creative force reach a pinnacle in the widening of horizons, the exploration of that heretofore unknown, the brave flaunting of inborn limitations. In the arts and the sciences, form and function combine as one when great men reach out towards the unreachable zenith of perfection, approaching it ever closer.
Pioneers, they are called, those few who thus incite revolution by going farther than their predecessors. Only by living their potential to the highest level do they achieve it. And like the great forces they both worship and master, they are, at the least, deserving of the highest honors one human may bestow upon another.
They deserve recognition. They deserve alike both silent awe and the loudest applause. And they deserve a place in our remembrances.
Two years ago this day, tragedy struck down a group of pioneers and high achievers. Risk oft is implicit to the expansion of human limits; and the heavens weep with fire when risk strikes home and takes from our physical world those of vision, those of courage, those who strive to advance themselves and, thereby, advance us all.
On this anniversary, as on the last and on into the future, let us renew our memories of the crew aboard Columbia flight STS-107:
- Col. Rick D. Husband (USAF), Commander
- Cmdr. William C. McCool (USN), Pilot
- Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson (USAF), Payload Commander
- Capt. David M. Brown (USN), Mission Specialist
- Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist
- Capt. Laurel Blair Salton Clark (USN), Mission Specialist
- Col. Ilan Ramon (IAF), Payload Specialist & Honored Guest in the American Space Program
Their resting place is in the skies that they conquered. Light, now, as the air they soared through and above, they in their celestial tombs watch over the future advancement of human endeavor. May the stars ever smile brightly upon them.