1960s | The Life, the Light, the Tears, of the Poet of the Sphere

The 1960s was an amazing decade, era, and time;
a period when the best of humanity inspired, pioneered, and began to shine.
Even though I did not live through the exciting, inspiring, sometimes frightening, 1960s,
it does not preclude me from feeling the optimism and the energy by way of reprise-
whether it be in art, fashion, music, nostalgia, or on TV in the phenomenal ‘Mad Men’;
young and old are re-embracing the 1960s, and I count myself among them.
The 1960s was a decade that redefined every aspect of human expectation and culture,
a golden-age when the world lifted up their eyes and dreamed of a bright and optimistic future.

The 1960s, however, was also a time of great anxiety, pain, and tragedy;
when, as dreams were being dreamed, events and emotions reached their perigee;
when wars were fought, men, women, and children, lost their lives;
and when new opinions were formed that brought about the downfall of old divides.

The 1960s is of interest to me because I have always dreamed of being there in 1969;
being there, or just watching live on TV, at the moment when humanity crossed a line;
being there when perhaps the most famous and important words ever spoken were defined:
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Every time I hear Neil Armstrong’s radio transmission my imagination immediately takes flight-
I imagine what my dad must have felt when he watched the moon landing in black and white;
I imagine being of the half a billion people who watched, became invested, and were overcome,
by the most momentous event in human history; the question of: what now? and what is yet to come?

If I had to pick a decade to be born in- apart from the 1580s-
it would have to be in this decade, this era, this time, the one and the only 1960s.
The 1960s was, and still is, a decade that informed and touched the lives of all of humanity;
a time when everyone on Earth was met with moments of joy, reinvention, and tranquility.
The 1960s was, and still is, a decade of style, substance, energy, and elation;
a decade of highs, and low’s; a decade of adventure, and curiosity; a decade of liberation.
The 1960s is a gift to us all who live, love, and breathe, the debt that cannot be repaid.
Oh, what it must have been like to live in this decade!