The Gospel According To Woodstock - We Are Stardust

Section of Galaxy Cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 - Photo Credit NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute

In August 1969 the Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, NY with over half a million people in attendance.

I always loved Joni Mitchell's song about Woodstock, but it wasn't until my faith journey took me off of the Young Earth path and on to the Old Earth path that I fully appreciated the line "We are stardust". You can read a little about that part of my faith journey in an older post of mine titled I'm Losing (And Finding) My Religion - Again.

In fact, I didn't even remember until today that she wrote the line "We are billion year old carbon". I think that I blocked it out of my mind all of these years because it didn't fit with my previous Young Earth perspective.

The knowledge that everything on this planet; every plant and animal, every human being, and even every rock contains the remnants of a star that exploded somewhere in the universe - that knowledge excites me.

The basic elements that were created during the Big Bang and then added to by super novas became the building blocks of our solar system. Every molecule of iron in my blood, every calcium atom in my bones came from a star... we are quite literally made of stardust, billion(s) year old carbon.

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
till thou shalt return to the ground;
for out of it wast thou taken:
for dust thou art,
and to dust shalt thou return. 
(Genesis 3:19)

Here is a video of Joni Mitchell singing her song Woodstock...



 
Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Fair Use Notice

(Originally posted 08/01/2011, updated 08/17/2019)