RAY'S VIEWS ONLINE

WE’RE inclined to forget that the Sun, which we so enjoy when it’s shining on us (but not too fiercely), and which we so much miss when the days are short-lived and freezing, is a furiously raging nuclear furnace.

It’s turning hydrogen into helium, and releasing the resultant energy in everything from blistering surface bubbles to searing flares, rocketing out like deadly missiles in all directions, including ours. 

One day, as its ‘last hurrah’, its size will swell to include the orbit of our Earth which, unceremoniously, will be burned to a crisp. In other words, one of our best friends will finally be the death of us !

This is a reality that our down-to-earth, as well as our philosophical and religious, thinking needs to take account of, if it’s to make any claim to credibility, factuality, relevance and ultimate meaning.

But in the meantime, while the cogs in our brains either reluctantly and protestingly grind, or eagerly and optimistically whirl – let’s all have a really good day, while it lasts !!