Once upon a time (about 13.8 billion years ago), only a tiny speck existed. That speck, although small, was loaded with energy. And when the speck could no longer contain itself, it exploded. Bang!  The insides came out but there was no place for this matter to go so space was created.

As the universe expanded, it lost much of its density (just like a flabby muscle) and started cooling off. The speck’s particles, once united, were now left alone to drift in space. Tired of the loneliness, the particles began seeking the company of other particles. Together they created atoms. And the atoms, that also liked to group together, created clans we now call stars and galaxies.

For billions of years the universe constructed its identity with these Lego-like atoms. Now the universe was full of brightly burning stars that, once formed, also expanded. Nuclear energy within the star kept it shining. But when the energy ran out, the supernova star collapsed on itself and exploded spreading its dust around the universe.

Space is such a lonely place. The homeless supernova dust, tired of being alone, looked around for new contacts and friends. Slowly the dust coalesced to create a new solar system that included Earth, the planet we now call home.

Thus the Earth is made from old supernova stardust. And since man was created on Earth, this means we, too, are made of stardust.

On the seventh day of his artistic creating, as mentioned in Genesis 2:7, God grabbed some dust from the ground and, like a sculptor, began to create man. What is this dust if not stardust? Otherwise, why would Joni Mitchell sing “We are stardust, we are golden and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden” if we’re not a product of this supernova debris. The atoms in our body were created during the Big Bang which means our bodies are made up of 13.7 billion year old atoms (which could explain why I’m often tired).

Now there are those scientists who’ve taken the Bang out of our creation insisting that the tiny speck referred to above did not explode but simply started stretching itself out more and more. Unable to stop itself, more than a Big Bang, it was a Big Blob that just kept/keeps expanding pushing other galaxies further away from the Earth. But be it a Big Bang or a Big Blob, the power of stardust remains as my friend, Luz, knows well.

On the Night of San Lorenzo in 1954, Luz caught a falling star and took it home. Here, using a coffee grinder, she pulverized the star then added to it a few of drops of frankincense oil to it.

Now there are seed bombers who like to throw around little mud balls full of seeds as a means of introducing vegetation where there’s none. Luz like the idea very much. But instead of seeds for her balls, she decided to use stardust. And, whenever Luz came across barren land, she’d hold up a handful of dust and blow it into the air. She was amazed at the result.

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(from“Dusted Stars” 2022)

Related: The Overview Effect + READING LIST–The stardust revolution: the new story of our origin in the stars by Berkowitz, Jacob on archive.org HERE + We Are Made of Stardust from Old Supernovas + How 40,000 Tons of Cosmic Dust Falling to Earth Affects You and Me +