There is a lot of wisdom and perspective in these astronaut quotes, they have seen the Earth from a different perspective than most of humanity. I would say this this writing comes from a renaissance people. I would love to have their window seat someday, but I am glad that I can view the world through aerial (and space) photography.

"I saw breathtaking expanses of land and ocean and I became keenly aware that the planet below was home. I felt connected with my loved ones when I saw our town as we passed over New England. Of all the amazing views, what stuck in my mind was what I did not see. Where were the lines outlining the borders of the countries?

Rivers, mountains and plains flow across this land indifferent to national borders. It is truly moving to see it with your own eyes from space." by Cady Coleman (STS-73, STS-93),

"The Earth is enormous, floating quietly in the blackness of space, and it's breathing and revolving. The atmosphere looks so thin that you almost get the impression that it might dissolve into nothingness and float away into space. This doesn't happen, of course, but the shallow depth of this life-sustaining atmosphere gives an impression of disturbing fragility." Winston Scott (STS-72, STS-87) ,

"Halfway through my second shift on STS-47, this remote part of central Asia appeared. I was captivated by this huge glacial lake cradled between 18,000 foot peaks thrown into the sky as India grinds north into Asia. But the pollution of over-fertilized fields (visible as a light blue streak on the dark blue of the lake) impressed upon me the importance of being good stewards of the Earth for our descendants"

and Jerome "Jay" Apt  (STS-37, STS-47, STS-59, STS-79)

>From Looking at Earth in Gallery 110