How Buzz lost his buzz
Sixty-one years ago, on May 25, 1961, then-US President John F. Kennedy issued a big challenge that changed the world as we knew it: send a man to the moon and bring him back by the end of the decade.
The Apollo 11 mission was launched in 1969. It was broadcast in 33 countries, with an estimated 25 million viewers alone in the United States.
It was one of the greatest events in human history.
That distant object (the moon) that illuminated the world at night was suddenly directly under a man’s feet. The first words spoken on the moon were spoken by astronaut Neil Armstrong, who said,
“One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The fascinating thing is that most people only remember Neil Armstrong as the first man to set foot on the moon.
Unfortunately, but not surprising, no one recalls the second astronaut who was on the same spacecraft as Neil. His name was Buzz Aldrin. He stepped onto the moon’s surface a few minutes after Neil Armstrong had alighted.
They collected lunar rocks and dust for further research on Earth while on the moon’s surface. When they were finished, they both climbed aboard their lunar lander and rocketed off the moon’s surface to rejoin their spacecraft on its way to Earth.
Here’s the interesting part…
When Buzz Aldrin returned to earth, he became depressed and lost his zest for life. When they asked him, “What did it feel like to be on the moon?” The only response he had was, “Magnificent desolation.”
He was later diagnosed with clinical depression and alcoholism, and for a long time, he was out of public space.
He had lost his buzz.
Here was a man who had reached the highest height any man had ever gone in history, yet on returning to earth, he could not find the zeal and excitement to keep pushing on to bigger things.
Why did this happen?
It was said that during the years and months leading up to this moon mission, all the astronauts had been so trained and prepared to believe that this was the most important mission of their lifetimes. They gave their ALL, and altered their lifestyles, habits, and thinking, just to fit the demands of this mission.
Now, having accomplished the feat, it felt to him that there was nothing more challenging, exciting, or daring to pursue or give his life to.
He stated in his memoirs, “I wanted to resume my duties, but there were no duties to resume. There was no goal, no sense of calling, no project worth pouring myself into.”
Wow!
What does this tell us?
It tells us that success is harder to maintain than to attain.
The most important lesson here is to keep reaching for more!
You may have landed on the moon, but how about reaching for the stars?
How about reaching for Mars, Saturn, or even other solar systems and galaxies? Earth is only but a speck in the vast expanse of the universe.
There’s more to explore.
There is more to become.
There is more to attain.
There is still work to be done.
As Paul wrote, we must press towards the mark of the UPWARD CALL…
Don’t rest on your oars.
Success is fleeting, but when you stay in pursuit, you keep on improving without end.
Don’t lose your buzz.
Keep buzzing.
