Tonight, MBH and I went out and bought a good dinner-to-go and attended an outdoor free concert given by our town north of Atlanta.  The venue is on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, and the place was full of kids and adults as the sun went down.  The temperature dropped to a very pleasant coolness and Michelle Malone took the stage with her modest band.  Music permeated the night.  

Good music.  Good food.  Good company.

Looking beyond the people and the music, the moon was in its first quarter, looking lovely.  It took a bit of time, and some searching, but, eventually I found Mars and either Jupiter or Saturn shining through the waning sunlight.  More time passed, and Polaris shined through the light pollution from the city to the south.  As I watched (and listened to the music), I noticed other stars showing dimly, some at the edge of perception until they resolved into prominent pinpoints, and I began to ponder the relativity of things, which brought me some peace.

An awful lot of people never look up. Many of them are stressed out and focused on their lives at this moment, or yesterday, or maybe the stuff tomorrow will bring.  We all know about preaching to the choir, and I may be doing that here, but I feel the need to say this anyway:  we tend to kill ourselves because we don't get out of our heads and see the universe and its wonders that are always there.

Take the Time To Look Up from the ground and yourself every once in a while, and really notice the wonders around you.  It will reduce your stress levels (hopefully more than temporarily), and maybe bring you some awe and wonder.

Like eating chicken soup, it couldn't hurt!*

________

* - for those of you who haven't heard that expression before, it comes from an old Jewish parable (from which I paraphrase):