It's time for us all to recognize the beauty of life and the things that are most precious, on Earth rather than in some imaginations of what space might be like.
'The beauty isn't out there, it's down here': Star Trek star William Shatner says going to space on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket felt like 'a funeral' and filled him with 'overwhelming sadness'William Shatner said seeing Earth from space aboard Jeff Bezo's Blue Origin rocket was a profoundly sorrowful experience, but one which inspired him to cherish the beauty of our planet.
In an excerpt from his new memoir, Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, revealed that the 91-year-old Star Trek star was struck with one of the 'strongest feelings of grief' he had ever experienced.
Shatner wrote that rather than being filled with awe, as he expected to be, the sight of Earth's warm blue glow surrounded by the cold black of space left him feeling like he was at 'a funeral.'
The excerpt was published by Variety journalist Marianne Williamson, and offered a deeper insight into Shatner's reaction to his space flight with Blue Origin than he has previously revealed.
The revelations come a year after Shatner was seen to be visibly moved immediately after stepping out of the Blue Origin capsule in October 2021, when he broke down in tears telling Bezos: 'Everybody in the world needs to do this.'
Shatner wrote that he never realized how precious life on Earth was until he left it behind.
'I discovered that the beauty isn't out there, it's down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound,' he wrote in his memoir.
He said seeing the Earth so fragile filled him with sorrow to think about how man kind is so flippant about its destruction.
'It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness.'
'My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration,' he added. 'Instead, it felt like a funeral.'
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