Astronaut who observed Earth from space for 178 days says he realized humanity is 'living a lie'

It takes a lot of arduous experiences in life to develop a philosophical mindset. Many achievers who have attained greatness in a field only after going through strenuous life experiences have realized the importance of their time on this Earth. Astronaut Ronald Garan is one such man who had an eye-opening realization while he was in space. Having participated in three different space missions between 2008 and 2011, according to NASA, Garan spent over 178 days in space. Reflecting on what his time in space taught him in an interview with Big Think, Garan spoke about how people on Earth are "living a lie." 

Garan is one of those fortunate people to have experienced a pristine view of our beautiful planet from the International Space Station. "When we see our planet from the perspective of space, certain things become undeniably clear. We keep trying to deal with issues such as global warming, deforestation and biodiversity loss, as standalone issues, when in reality, they're just symptoms of the underlying root problem. And the problem is that we don't see ourselves as planetary," he said. Garan got to admire incredible natural phenomena like flashes of lightning and auroras from space. In those moments, Garan realized that a "paper-thin" atmosphere is protecting a myriad of species in our planet. "I saw an iridescent biosphere teeming with life. I didn't see the economy," he added.

That's when it struck Garan that what we prioritize and value in life is quite trivial compared to the truth that we are planetary beings. "Since our human-made systems treat everything, including the very life-support systems of our planet, as the wholly-owned subsidiary of the global economy, it's obvious from the vantage point of space that we're living a lie," the astronaut explained. Garan pointed out that humans need to sort our priorities from "economy, society, planet," to "planet, society, economy." He emphasized that it is essential for humans to evolve better.

Garan then spoke about how this perspective is a common factor among many astronauts. It's called the "Overview effect," which makes astronauts who come back from space feel like they've gone through a transformation. "The overview effect describes the shift that astronauts have when they see the planet hanging in the blackness of space. There's this light bulb that pops up where they realize how interconnected and interdependent we all are," the astronaut explained. Garan highlighted that people need to realize "the basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality." The fact that we on Earth are all "inextricably linked" to each other as sentient beings in this planet should be perceived in people's minds, as per Garan.

So, rather than prioritizing the economy, the astronaut insists people embrace their actuality as fellow species on Earth while trying to protect this incredible planet that sustains us. "One of the things that I realized during my time in space is that we're not from Earth, we're of Earth. And to take that one step further is that we're not in the universe, we are the universe," Garan pointed out. "I'm very optimistic because I see quite clearly a blossoming awareness of our interdependent nature. That awareness will eventually reach a critical mass and when it reaches critical mass, then we'll be able to solve the problems facing our planet."