When Was The Last Time You Looked Up?

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
--Robert Browning

All of this happened a few days ago.

It was one of those mornings. I didn't feel like I'd had enough sleep, I had to get the dog out to do his business, I wasn't looking forward to going to work, and a thousand things were going through my head. Bills were due. The baby's due soon, and I don't feel ready. Why is the dog just sniffing around instead of getting things over with, so I can go back inside?

And then I happened to look up.

There was a beautiful half moon in the sky, just above the upper right arm of Orion. Just below the Orion's left foot shone Venus. And I stood there, entranced. For a moment, all my concerns melted away. It was just me, the cool Earth beneath my bare feet, and the wonder of the heavens. That image, and the sudden moment of clarity it brought me, still remain.

When was the last time you looked up? When was the last time you stopped to smell the flowers? To look at a tree, or watch the squirrels? How often do you pass by the glory and majesty of the world around you, as you hurry off to meet yet another self-imposed and unimportant deadline?

How often do you simply drift through life, rather than stopping to actually live it?

Look up. Feel the wind. Smell the rain. Hear the birds. Look at the stars. Remember that there's more to life than hurrying from bed to work to TV to bed again.