Can you recall the first time you ever really looked up and noticed the sky at night? I do.
I was with my dad and my brother. We were sitting around a campfire. It was a cold Colorado night, and that campfire felt really good! I was gazing into the flames when all of a sudden I just looked up… for no reason, just did.
The sky was so big I had the sensation I might fall over backward trying to take it in. I was awestruck by the beauty. My dad must have been watching me, because he said, “It’s very beautiful, isn’t it, Carolyn!” I agreed. We were all three quiet then, just looking up at that sky and listening to the crackle of the fire. It was heaven.
Then a few months later, my brother asked me if I would like to go outside and look at constellations through his new telescope. He really knew his constellations, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn from him…. plus, I just loved being with my brother no matter what we were doing together.
He pointed out all kinds of stars and planets to me with tremendous enthusiasm. He talked and talked about each and every one of them. I stayed out in the freezing cold listening to him recite until the chatter of my teeth was more prevalent than the chatter of his conversation. Tonight, I couldn’t tell you one constellation I looked at with him, but I could tell you every look and nuance of my brother’s demeanor. It was heaven.
A few years later when I was starting to question everything [as children often do], I happen to be star gazing when my dad came out in our yard to join me. He started teasing me about pondering the questions of the universe and I asked him… “Dad what do you think infinite is?”
In the, dark my father pulled out his pocket knife, opened it up and asked me if I could see the end of it. I could just pick out the end of the blade… I said, “Yes.” Then he told me to look up into the stars and asked me if I could see the end of the sky. I said, “No.”
“That, Carolyn, is infinite. It is what never ends.”
I loved that conversation in the darkness with my dad that night. To this day, I find his answer compelling and I have a joyous sensational feeling just recalling it. After that moment of bonding, we stood for a long while enjoying the stars. It was heaven.
Tonight, I went out back to look into the sky. It is very clear where I live… a small community that is far enough from lights to offer star gazing. Tonight, the stars were plentiful. I remembered my dad, my brother, and how comforting the stars always are for me. It is where I go when life is too challenging or I am too tired to face it. The same constellations that were there as a child still grace the sky and speak to me. If heaven is high above, there are times when the earth and humans meet it out among the stars.
May you be blessed with a star filled night.
Best… Carolyn Thomas Temple