Looking up at the sky
And I’m scared
Thinking ‘bout the way that I
I don’t understand
Anything at all
How it overtakes me
And I’m just so small
Do I stand a chance?"
- The Flaming Lips
The other week I was on my way home from work walking from the bus stop to my building, and was listening to "It Overtakes Me" by The Flaming Lips, and just as it got to the change where Wayne sings the part that I quoted above, I tilted my head towards the night sky and looked at the Universe. A calm washed over me, I forgot about my job, my bills, something stupid I said that day; nothing mattered because I knew that nothing I do will ever matter in the grand scheme of things, that my existence on this planet is way bigger than I am… I felt good.
That was just one example of how the stars were successful in soothing my soul, but no matter how I’m feeling they always deliver. I’m not sure what it is that I subconsciously associate looking at the sky with… it may be I think about the times sitting at Canoelands on that piece of rock attached to the cottage, discussing the stars with losers; or it may be that when I look up it reminds me of all the times I’ve thought about the Universe and how it blows my mind; OR it may be that the very act of looking up at the sky and being lost in the moment is what it’s all about, and the stars physically have the same effect on me when I’m looking at them as when I’m thinking about them… who knows!
What I do know is that whenever I stop and realise that it’s a beautiful night, I make sure to look up and check out the artwork. Eden wrote an awesome blog on Wednesday 14 April 2010, entitled Life Imagery, in which he discussed among other things the beauty of a metaphor and how you can use it to seek out the “truths of life and love”. Well looking up at the sky to me is a metaphor for looking up in life; but not the conventional “you can achieve anything” crap… it’s a simple philosophy – just relax, clear your mind, love in the now, feel good.
Oh… and listen to the Flaming Lips.
- Russell
I love starbathing. I think I'm slowly starting to recognise constellations as well.
ReplyDeleteI think because space is so inconcievable it prevents us from trying to use logic or reason to understand (like Im doing right now in this sentence), we just let go and get lost in the moment, like you say
I love looking at the stars. i had a dream last night that i was stargazing and it was reeeally beautiful, that's close enough right?
ReplyDelete