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“You cannot look up at the night sky on the Planet Earth and not wonder what it’s like to be up there amongst the stars. And I always look up at the moon and see it as the single most romantic place within the cosmos.”
Tom Hanks

My earliest memory of the sky, was of peering through my windowsill, late at night, and hopping onto a spaceship of imagination; to get lost in the multitude of shimmering stars, amidst the darkness. There was something strangely calming and comforting, looking up, into the vast nothingness of space. Imagining the silence and beauty of how a moment — up there — might feel.

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Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
Rabindranath Tagore

I never quite took to science fiction. And it’s something Basil could never really understand. Honestly, I’ve always thought, that science fiction stretched the realms of imagination — beyond the limits of present day logic. And yet, one could also argue, a thousand years back, an aeroplane  could have been science fiction. Who’d say we’d sit in a hollow cylinder and glide through the clouds and manage to reach a point — far into the sky above and yet, close enough to earth below.

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Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

More often than not, we tend to take ‘life on earth’ for granted. The fact we’re here, as a species, or even life as we know it. And when you look above, think of the cosmos, and the epic proportions of the inter-galactic bodies that can or cannot be seen by the naked eye — you know that every day, you’re privy to some of the biggest spectacles of the cosmos.

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The next time you experience a blackout, take some solace by looking at the sky. You will not recognize it. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

What is it about looking above, that can make your forget of what you were thinking of?  A bad day may not seem so bad after all. Perhaps, there’s something more to those powder puffs floating in space. What is it that they’re trying to say? Is it a sign? There’s hope as long as there’s a silver lining.

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You don’t look out there for God, something in the sky, you look in you.
Alan Watts

But what makes sky gazing much more than a trivial hobby ? The sky is the mirror to where and who we will be in the distant future. When water wars take over the earth, and the icebergs have melted; we’d have to look beyond our planet. Will we truly be able to go beyond the pages of our imagination and walk into reality of space travel? Set on journeys to discover and explore the outer reaches of our galaxy? Or will we perish, when our sun turns into a giant red ball of fury? The sky is a reflection of our future, whilst continuously reminding us of our past. Eventually, we will all turn into stardust. After all, that’s where we came from.

 

Posted by:twobrownfeet

35 replies on “Beam Me Up, Scotty!

    1. Thanks so much. Miriam. 🙂 We had a wonderful cloud show last weekend. Everyone forgot about themselves and for change started taking shots of the sky! It was fantastic! 🙂

  1. Beautifully written, Cheryl. What an amazing array of shots of the sky. So many colours, different times of the day 🙂 “looking up, into the vast nothingness of space” Exactly how I feel when I look up into the sky at night and it’s all black. Stars are always so pretty to look at, and they are mysterious things – they come and go as they please. We are all under the same sky, and often when I look to the sky, I think about how we’re all at home together in this world 🙂

    1. Thanks, Mabel! 🙂 I can’t stop falling in love with the sky, again and again. And to think that everyday it’s possible to see almost the same thing and yet, be amazed by it all. I really liked your last line, “We’re all home together in this world.” Very true! Have a great week ahead! 🙂

      1. Enjoy the warm days. I am back to Ireland in two weeks, back to the rain.
        Last Sunday we saw amazing clouds. I have to google the name of such clouds. Sometimes the sky looks breathtaking, but as you say, it is changing rapidly.

      2. We’re having pleasant weather these days. The temperatures are finally dipping! 🙂 Now that you mention it, I have forgotten the names of most of these clouds. I remember learning about them as a kid. The sky is fantastic, quite possibly because it is rapidly changing. 🙂

      3. That’s fantastic! 🙂 I repeated the search and found interesting links to read. In the morning we hiked along one of the mountains and I was worried it would rain. Fortunately, the clouds held up till evening — when we visited the Han River. I don’t think we’ve seen clouds like these.

  2. The sky always help for dramatic pictures. I love when there are some clouds but with a blue sky. The picture of the tall building with the clouds reflecting on it is really good, I like the concept. The sunsets make me ponder about life 🙂

  3. I am a huge fan of science and science fiction and have found great solace in the expanse of the universe and the possibilities on offer there. Every photo a winner here…especially the building with the clouds reflected. Love the perspective.

    1. You and Basil would really hit it off! He’s slowly drawing me to the other side. 🙂 These days, we’re binge watching Star Trek – the original series(the inspiration for this post). We couldn’t believe our luck when we saw the skies that day. Thanks so much for stopping by, Lisa. 🙂

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