Thought Question #4
Have you ever studied the night sky for a few silent minutes? What did you feel?
Thought questions are intended to inspire introspection, discussion, and debate, less to discover which answer is right and more to test an idea’s durability from differing angles. The goal is to provoke thought and refine articulation.
“Thought Questions” are well suited for teachers, educators, youth groups, socials, group discussions, family gatherings, personal improvement, and more.
If this hasn’t been done recently (or at all), high recommend to give it a try.
Go outside on a clear night, no conversation, no phones, no distractions, and look up. Just look. For a few minutes. Soak it in.
The longer you look, the more stars you’ll see, even if you don’t know many constellations.
Now, what do you feel?
There is an unparalleled interplay of vastness and smallness elicited in the quietude of a star-studded sky. There’s something deep and grounding about knowing you’re somehow significant in a universe that’s large enough to make your sense of self irrelevant. It’s the visceral experience of standing beneath infinity.
Something unique happens in that realization. Unlike other mundane activities, going for a walk, washing dishes, folding laundry, it’s very difficult to stew in personal issues, anxieties, worries while maintaining focus on the night sky. The problems don’t go away, they simply lose some of their intensity in those moments, borrowing from the weightlessness of the very space you’re staring into.
It’s even more difficult to be assertive or arrogant when surrendering to this ungraspable part of the world which exists beyond the confines of nature. There is only the abiding constancy of a silent, aged sky twinkling with warmth and merriment. It’s a reset, a reminder, of context.
A truth about life is revealed in this reality too. Simply, where do stars go during the day?
Nowhere, of course. So why can’t we see them? Without the proper lens, daytime is too bright to spot their light. They’re not too small, they’re not too dim, they just need the right setting to be clearly seen.
Our own lives are studded with seemingly tiny pinpricks of light. When things are “light,” we don’t necessarily notice them. Perhaps we vaguely recognize they’re there, but only when it’s dark is their presence undeniable. Often, only when it’s dark, do we remember to appreciate what’s always there.