Eyes to the Sky

With millions of others, I watched Artemis II launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida yesterday. I was home watching it on TV, wondering what it would be like to be there, feeling the launch first, then turning eyes to the sky as the rocket, boosters, and capsule reached further and further away from Planet Earth. History in the making. A mission to travel around our Moon.

Eyes to the sky. This is a daily practice for me. When I step outside to walk Gracie or go for a run. When I am driving to work, or home after work. I love the changing daylight and dawn and dusk are favorite observations for me. When I look up, I am humbled. In awe to be part of something so incredible. A tiny part, but not alone. That is comforting to me.

It reminded me of a few lines in a post I had written years earlier on my “Habitual Gratitude” blog:

Look up at the awe-inspiring sky. Whether it be daylight and the endless blue on a clear day, or nighttime and the way the moon and light clouds create a masterpiece. As Brother David Steindl-Rast reminds us: "Look at the sky. We so rarely look at the sky." It is humbling to see our place in the world with the sky as our backdrop.

There is much here on Earth that can keep our attention looking down. We miss so much when we forget to pause and look up. Our eyes need a break, a different view. So do our minds, hearts, and souls. So simple, so profound.

And a fitting poem to wrap it up, on day 2 of National Poetry Month. Onward and upward!