I am currently in Bavaria in the company of some of the finest minds I will ever encounter all of whom work in the fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics. It seems ironically fitting as I repost this piece in meager tribute to Stephen Hawking who has passed away over night at the age of 76. In his mind he was free, now perhaps he is really free in whatever firmament he is flying and the world below might feel it is ever poorer for his loss – but to be poorer you must once have been richer and used wisely his legacy not simply of his work but of his continual dogged determination to keep going and to live the fullest of intellectual lives despite being trapped in a broken body, that is surely the glittering example that we can and should all carry forward throughout our own lives – to not be deterred but rather to rise above and continue to expand our minds and our hearts. RIP Professor Hawking – I will never forget you.
In my mind I am free
