A View from Beyond Ourselves
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“The earth is at the same time mother; she is mother of all that is natural, mother of all that is human.” — Hildegard of Bingen
During weeks full of conflict, confusion, and noise, something far more miraculous took place that we haven’t had time to meditation on. Four human beings left the earth, circled the moon and returned.
They went beyond the orbit that shapes our daily lives. They passed the familiar edge of our worries and circled behind the moon. From there, they watched the earth fade from view. They call it “Earthset.”
From the surface of the moon, our planet, with every country, every conflict, and every life, slowly slips out of sight. It is hard to take that in.
We are used to living at the center of our own story. The news cycle reinforces that. Everything feels immediate. Everything feels urgent. Everything feels decisive.
But from that distance, the scale changes.
The earth becomes so small that it can disappear behind the edge of another world. Not meaningless. But no longer the whole frame.
This is not the first time human beings have seen this.
When the first pictures of Earthrise arrived from space, they changed how people saw the planet. Environmental movements began, and people started talking about earth as one system, a shared home.
But we forget. We go back to our divisions. We split into groups and tell ourselves who belongs and who does not. We create whole worlds from these differences. And then, from time to time, we are given a different view.
Thomas Berry wrote that the earth is not just a group of objects, but a community of living beings.1 This idea is easier to understand when you see the whole planet at once. From space, there are no borders, no nations, no parties, no ideologies. It is just one fragile planet surrounded by a huge, dark space. Maria Rilke once wrote that we are not merely the passing forms of this world, but part of its ongoing life.2 That becomes harder to ignore when you see how small and how singular this place is.
The point of this perspective is not to dismiss what is happening on earth. The conflicts are real. The suffering is real. The decisions being made matter.
But the scale shifts the question. It is no longer only, “What is happening?” It becomes, “What kind of world are we creating on this small, shared home?” Because this is it. As far as we know, there is no other place for us. There is no second earth to start over. This is our home.
Thich Nhat Hanh taught that we “inter-are.”3 Our lives are connected in ways we cannot fully separate. Seeing earth from space makes this clear. We breathe the same air. We depend on the same systems. We are all shaped by the same delicate conditions that allow life to exist.
The perspective does not solve our problems. It does not tell us how to navigate the crises in front of us. But it does make clear what is at stake. Not winning. Not dominating. Not securing advantage over one another. But it is about learning how to live together on this earth.
The astronauts have returned to the noise, just like we do. But for a moment, they saw something we rarely let ourselves see.
Now the question is whether we will let that vision change us.
We are in this together,
Cameron
A Note from Cameron
I am away for the next two weeks on a trip to Italy. A little work and a little fun. I will do my best to send out meditations, but if I miss some days, don’t worry. I will be back in the swing when I return.
Reflection Questions
What shifts in you when you imagine the earth from that distance?
How does a cosmic perspective change what feels urgent or important?
What does it mean to live as if this planet is truly shared?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For a Wider Vision
God, lift our eyes beyond ourselves. When we become consumed by what is immediate, remind us of the larger whole. When we divide and separate, remind us how deeply we belong to one another. Give us the wisdom to live gently on this earth, and the courage to care for what has been entrusted to us. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Expanding the Frame
Find one of the images from this mission. Sit with it for a few minutes. Do not analyze it. Just look.
Notice your scale. Notice the size of the earth. Notice the vastness that surrounds it.
Then ask yourself: What matters now?
Write down what comes.
Carry that with you into the day.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
May 27, 2026, 12pm ET - FREE WEBINAR - I will be hosting an online experience titled “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination: A live experiential webinar with Jackie Sussman." Jackie, a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
On July 19-24, 2026, I’ll be leading a Women’s Wellness Retreat in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, and I’d love to extend the invitation to you. We’ll spend five days off the grid, riding horses through wide open landscapes, sharing meals, and creating space to slow down enough to hear ourselves think again. This retreat is about returning to yourself, settling your nervous system, letting go of what you’ve been carrying, and getting clearer about what matters now. The group will be small (no more than 10 women), and we’ll move at a steady, spacious pace, with plenty of room for both conversation and quiet. I hope you’ll consider joining us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
My colleague, the amazing Rev. Anna Golladay, is hosting another online training in Protest and Action Chaplaincy. This course offers a framework for providing compassionate, grounded spiritual care during protests, advocacy gatherings, and social movements. Drawing from a variety of faith traditions and critical social justice theory, it equips chaplains, pastors, and spiritual leaders to respond with integrity, purpose, and preparedness. LEARN MORE HERE.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988), 82.
Letters to a Young Poet, trans. M. D. Herter Norton (New York: W.W. Norton, 1934), Letter 8.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1987).
Earth is The Great Heroine in my view. Thanks for the reminder. 🙏💗🙏
Thank you for your clarity and encouragement, Rev. Cameron. I also love your mediation in Richard Rohr’s community today. We all need all the encouragement and wisdom we can get these days.