Human beings have a tremendous capacity for emotion. That is our superpower and weakness. The greatest things we accomplish are rooted in feeling, not cold, calculating logic. The emotions, the feelings are what make us human.

Stories are natural triggers of emotion. We feel the peaks and the valleys. We are our stories. We are writing our own stories right now. My story at Blue felt like one of failure for a long time. I was unable to accomplish what I had set out to do. I fell into a dark place. I could not function properly. I was numb and paralyzed. Just barely moving along at times. I lost myself.

But I broke through. Not to anything different. It was to a deeper, more authentic sense of self and reality. Life is bitter at times. In fact it can be bitter a lot. But the bitter just makes the sweet that much better, that much more precious when you get there. And so I drink deeply of the bitter. I let the dark come through so that I can recognize the points of light. If you look for darkness that is all you will ever see. But if you look for the light, you’ll find it. It’s there. Lean into the light. Grow it. Cultivate it. Be good stewards of the light. And share it with others.

So remember our stories and build new ones. Keep the dream alive in your minds and in your hearts. At the very least dream of working together again somewhere, someday. I dream of diverse peoples coming together to build the future…not only in space but also here on our pale blue dot. And that’s the thing. I think we each all have our own personal version of the dream that connects with that basic mission of Blue. We enhance “millions of people living and working in space” with additional colors that tell a greater story.  I love that and I treasure that. It’s all our own flavors of perspective that makes our collective self great.

I believe in us and I have faith in humanity. Even with everything happening in our world right now. Well, some people would laugh at that, and call it crazy (“you believe in this?!”). And I would agree it is crazy, but then, being sane is a pretty small and boring way to live.

So be present. Be connected. Fail together and succeed together. Celebrate the wins, and learn from the mistakes. And keep looking up.

<Mike can you give us a count down?>

3..2..1

Huzzah