Bloganuary Day 31.

Dear World.

As a child, I saw the sky so lit that I was mesmerised and didn’t want the sun to rise. What lit the night sky? The stars, the visible moon and the cosmic dust from other galaxies lightyears away.

I couldn’t have been more than 10 years of age when my father and I went on a road trip. We went to his hometown in rural St. Elizabeth. I called it ‘Forrest Mountain’ for obvious reasons. The first night, we sat outside on the porch of my paternal grandfather’s house and looked up. I was shocked to see the sky so bright.

You see, I was born in the city side of Jamaica. So, all my views of the sky were outshone by countless building lights, street lights and noise pollution. Yes, noise affects my ability to see beautiful things. Don’t question it, just accept it. But yes, I didn’t know the sky could be so bright.

I was in awe and I didn’t want it to end. I felt so at peace and quietened.

It’s amazing how some beautiful creatures and views can make you feel so small. This isn’t even in relation to confidence levels. It’s about being witness to such beauty that you’re reminded how small and insignificant you can be in the grand scheme of things. It reminded me that there’s so much more to life than our existence here in Earth – that despite the beauty at eye level, even greater beauty exists when we look up.

That was probably the first time in my life where I figured that other beings must exist outside of us on Earth. They views I had of the sky couldn’t be just for us. Impossible!

Since then, I’ve been hooked on looking up. In the daylight and night time, look up. Looking up helps to ground me. It might work for you as well. We’re always so focused on what is in front of us and also behind us that we forget to look up.

Few of us look up to thank the maker we believe in, others look up when there is a known spectacle. The rest of us just sit or stand and stress about life. Like, chill out and look up. It’s the most overwhelming yet calming activity to do. If you can, lay outside. Lay on your back and look up. Do it where there’s little to no artifical light around.

So, yes. Outside of the beaches, rivers and waterfalls that amaze me when I look ahead, looking up at the sky especially at night will also bring a sense of peace.

Signed with love,

The Suburban Girl JA