I grew up in the country. Away from the city lights. Away from the light pollution. Where the sky rolls on for miles and the stars shine brightly at night. Constellations were easily seen and the Northern Lights were a pretty routine occurrence.

The sky never made me feel small.

Except for when we were at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas way back in 2000… They had just opened Mission Control after launching the Space Shuttle Endeavor. It was commencing an 11-day mission to create a detailed 3D map of the earth. We got to hear them talking to real live astronauts in space. That made me feel like a tiny speck of stardust. With the astronauts up there, in the vastness of the sky, I felt unreal in that moment.

It was incredible and an experience I have never forgotten.

Generally, when I look up, it feels like home. It invites me into its silky blackness, enveloping me, hugging me close. Drawing me in to the fine lines of the galaxy, the bright dots of the many stars, and infiniteness of the many planets that surround us.

My favourite time to look up at the sky is when we are out camping, sitting by the fire. The fire crackles, the sky is black like ink, and I lay back, wrapped up in its totality, just connecting the dots. Finding the simple constellations – Ursa Major, Ursa Minor… Orion’s Belt, Cygnus, Cassiopeia…

While I haven’t seen the spectacular light show the Aurora Borealis have put on in the recent year, I have seen them in the past, and we did see them when we were out camping recently. There is no sight quite like it. It is unreal to watch the Northern Lights spiral and dance across the sky. When you see them, you realize just how small we are.

So, when I ask myself What do I feel when I look up at the sky? My answer is…

Hopeful. There is so much possibility in the abundance of the universe. So much possibility in the humanity of humans, that if we can get past our own fragility and hubris, there may be hope for us. And the sky gives me hope. Both the vastness of the night sky and the brilliance of the daylight.