Except one thing.
The only surprise to come out of Apollo 11 happened when the two astronauts returned to the command module. They had rejoined Michael Collins in orbit around the moon and had just taken off their space suits when they noticed a strange smell in the compartment. One of the astronauts said it smelled like a musty basement. The other said it smelled like a creek bed. Michael Collins thought it smelled like mothballs.
They eventually realized that what they were smelling was the dirt on the bottom of their boots, the dirt from the surface of the moon. Obviously the moon does not have an atmosphere, so nothing on it's surface gives off any kind of odor. It was only by unknowingly tracking the dirt into the command module and repressurizing (effectively crating a faux atmosphere) that they were able to smell it. It was the only genuine discovery of Apollo 11.
My meditation teacher brought this story up because he found it interesting that the sense of smell, the most subjective of all the senses (really, think of the last time something was objectively proven using one's sense of smell), granted the only real surprise of the entirety of the Apollo 11 mission. He related it to the practice of meditation by saying that it means nothing if all one does is meditate for a short while and then leave it behind on the cushion to go on with one's day or one's life. "You must bring the practice with you, into your everyday world, into every part of your life," he said. "Meditate while standing in line, while fixing a flat tire, while making love. Only then will it surprise you, will you discover something, will it matter. Only then will you smell the dust of the moon."
The only surprise to come out of Apollo 11 happened when the two astronauts returned to the command module. They had rejoined Michael Collins in orbit around the moon and had just taken off their space suits when they noticed a strange smell in the compartment. One of the astronauts said it smelled like a musty basement. The other said it smelled like a creek bed. Michael Collins thought it smelled like mothballs.
They eventually realized that what they were smelling was the dirt on the bottom of their boots, the dirt from the surface of the moon. Obviously the moon does not have an atmosphere, so nothing on it's surface gives off any kind of odor. It was only by unknowingly tracking the dirt into the command module and repressurizing (effectively crating a faux atmosphere) that they were able to smell it. It was the only genuine discovery of Apollo 11.
My meditation teacher brought this story up because he found it interesting that the sense of smell, the most subjective of all the senses (really, think of the last time something was objectively proven using one's sense of smell), granted the only real surprise of the entirety of the Apollo 11 mission. He related it to the practice of meditation by saying that it means nothing if all one does is meditate for a short while and then leave it behind on the cushion to go on with one's day or one's life. "You must bring the practice with you, into your everyday world, into every part of your life," he said. "Meditate while standing in line, while fixing a flat tire, while making love. Only then will it surprise you, will you discover something, will it matter. Only then will you smell the dust of the moon."
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