A mere 2.7 parsecs-or-so from my front porch in 92128 is the brightest star in the northern sky. Canis Majoris – the Dog Star blazes. Known colloquially as “Orion’s Hunting Dog” the star appears in human lore over the centuries. Homer notes that the rising of the star coincides with Achilles’ approach to Troy, “Orion’s dog they call it, brightest star of all but an evil portent, bringing heat and fevers to suffering humanity. ” The exact opposite interpretation occurs to some Biblical scholars that propose that Canis Majoris is the Star of Bethlehem…a portent of man’s salvation. The Cherokee nation places the star as a marker on the path of souls and the ancient Egyptians, noting that the appearance of the star coincided with the swelling of the Nile, actually placed a goddess Sopdet in their cosmology as the goddess of Sirius… ruling the “dog days” of summer.
What interests me is not Sirius but its companion, a white dwarf star that appears next to the Dog Star. Sirius B, its name, suggests a subordinate role for the heavenly body. What Sirius B lacks in size it compensates for in density. Roughly two thirds the size of Earth, this speck of light has a density 50,000 times greater than water and roughly 2X THE GRAVITY of its neighbor. Things that seem small in themselves often have significant gravity – agency – in human affairs. We all know that seemingly small things can have a major effect. The first kiss that leads to a marriage and generations; the first camera that leads to a great photographer or the first short race that leads to an Olympic gold medalist…things of small magnitude often possess great mass.
These days it pays to think small.
The Gang of Eight is always on the lookout for the means to make things better and they are often frustrated by what seems to be the impossibility of making positive change in our current circumstances. In a way, I believe that “mass” trumps magnitude. The plate of cookies, the positive post, the encouraging word create their own gravity. This is, of course-counterintuitive, we all hope for the large, “game changing” action. But it is often the mass of “small things” that actually has an effect. Mass outstrips magnitude.
When we are asked to wear a mask, to stay home or to be tested it is well to remember that it is not the gaudy brightness that changes things but the mass of small well intentioned actions that have 2X the gravity. While these actions may seem contrary to expectation, they work.
Let’s reject the fascination with the grand act and inhabit the dwarf star of small kindnesses. Ignore the big Dog and pet the Pup.
Be well. Think small. Act.
Olio Folio 