Fortune favors the brave. – An old saying.
Today is the 14th anniversary of China sending its first astronaut into space. Ten years later, in 2013, China was able to send an unmanned rover to the moon. China is the third nation to send men into space and to reach the moon, after the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States, and they remain rightfully proud of being one of three nations to accomplish these things.
In both cases, however, the Chinese were decades behind the Soviets and the Americans. The Soviets were the first nation to send men into space, doing so in 1961, and they were the first nation to reach the moon, landing Luna 9 in February 1966, a few months before America landed Surveyor 1. All of this, of course, was a prelude to America first putting men on the moon in 1969.
This got us thinking as to why it took so long for a third nation to send people into space and to reach the moon. Obviously, sending people into space is a daunting task, requiring supreme levels of initiative, knowledge and skill, not to mention money, but other nations had the resources.
We’ve concluded the space race of the 1960’s was ahead of its time. Spurred on by competition with, and fear of, each other, America and the Soviets were forced by circumstances to be ahead of their time. They had no choice. We think this conclusion is borne out by the fact no one, including the United States, is even close to returning humans to the moon.
What compels a person or a nation to be ahead of their time? One, you have to have a vision. Circumstances have to be right, too. Both the Americans and the Soviets had the vision, the resources and the skill and spirit of innovation to do what had never been done before. Both nations were brave, as are the Chinese, who have sent men into space on five other occasions.
Fortune favors the brave…
This lesson applies to us, as well. We may or we may not be ahead of our times. It doesn’t matter. The one thing we can all have common with those that are, however, is having a vision for our time on this planet and the courage to go and try something we haven’t done before.
If we do these things, everything else will take care of itself. The life we are meant to lead will present itself.
The Thought for the Day runs regularly. Quotes are from Gaylon’s private stock.
