Don’t forget to look up once in a while.

Its almost 9pm, I’ve stepped outside to throw out my opaque, murky paint water onto the plants in my front yard. The water splashes against the concrete and I look up. I’ve frozen, absolutely still, unmoving. All of a sudden, my eyes are fixated on the early spring sky. There are no clouds. Only stars. I feel strange. Is this what it felt like, all those years ago, before our eyes were blinded by screens and lights? I was reminded suddenly of the Tolkien story of the birth of the Eldar – the star-folk, the elves, as told in the Silmarillion. They woke up, in darkness, no sun, no moon. Only stars. I was overwhelmed with the intense beauty of it all. I felt like the elves, stirred from their slumber. Awakening to the dim, muted artistry of the land and air. A delicate tapestry or the gentle gemstones, woven in deepest strands of hair, twinkling slowly.

I would have never experienced this if I had just thrown my paint water and turned around. But something made me look up, and I knew. We look down at our phones, look down at our food, look down at our work, look down at ourselves. Always down. Why not up? I am reminded by the allures of nature, to reach for the stars. And now, I remind you. Don’t forget to look up once in a while. You never know what you might find.