Years ago, my daughter and I were vacationing in Florida and while she built sandcastles, she didn’t take to the ocean. She was too young and didn’t like the taste of salt water that splashed onto her face. As she got older, we went to more places and swam in more bodies of water. I remember we were at Myrtle Beach once and I caught her standing under the famous pier just gazing at the water where it met the horizon. I didn’t approach her but silently watched her look out into the ocean. She gazed for a long period of time. Years later, I still never asked her what she was thinking at that moment.
When we and friends of mine went on vacation last winter, our two families had the opportunity to trek out into the wintry wilderness. Without the light pollution of civilization, we gazed up into the night sky and were dazzled with a sight rarely seen by city slickers: stars. Lots of them.
We tried to identify planets, constellations and with the advent of mobile apps, we were able to ‘point-and-ID’ the bright objects in the sky. The freezing temperature didn’t bother us as our amazement took over all our senses. We all quietly looked, pointed and whispered. But mostly the experience was reverent acknowledgement that we are small.
We are truly just a distraction on a round speck of dirt that orbits an insignificant star, like trillions in the skies.
The petty squabbles between friends or even countries seem insignificant in the cosmic scale of things. We are truly just a distraction on a round speck of dirt that orbits an insignificant star, like trillions in the skies. However, it wasn’t our insignificance that we were awed by. I think it was a perspective that we are all connected to a vastness of endless possibilities that we have only just taken the first step to explore. We truly don’t even know what we don’t know.
For my daughter, it was another opportunity for her to stare into the vastness in quiet contemplation. She was without screens, phones and other distractions and was truly present in the moment. Wherever that moment was. It was nice to see.
