eyes to the sky.

a song to set the scene // sweet home - nostalgia version by syml

It all started when something fell from the sky.

And no- despite the fact that there have been many unidentified objects shot down from the sky in the last few weeks, this wasn’t one of them.

It was better.

As timing would have it, I glanced up just as a shooting star burst across the night’s sky.

Curious to see as to if I could catch another lucky glimpse at one, I kept my eyes glued to the sky for the rest of the drive home.

Unfortunately, I saw none; but, as fortune would have it, I did catch a glance of something else.

Something even better.

Not quite believing what my eyes were seeing, I peered closer as a streak of color danced in the dead of night.

To my delight, I was seeing the great northern lights.

And my did she dazzle.

Like nearly every other Alaskan in town, my gem and I drove in search of a space to gaze.

Bypassing familiar spots where spicy sky viewers harassed the use of headlights, my gem and I wound up at Cannery Road.

All above us, the sky gleamed the loveliest of greens.

Pulling up next to a snowbank, we shut the car off and watched in awe at this stunning display of color and movement.

I was struck.

How could nature put on such a dazzling display? How was I lucky enough to watch such a sensational show?

At the right place at the right time, we then settled back in our seats and kept our eyes to the sky.

Suddenly, I felt a single tear drop make its way down my cold cheeks.

The northern lights took my breath away.

(partly due to the single digit degrees now slinking their way into our cold car)

I’ve lived in Alaska well over 20 years, and my curiosity at this magnificent state continues to grow.

This was our backyard.

This was our home.

How lucky am I to live here, to witness the astonishing aurora?

Captivated by the way the colors changed, moved, danced, and swayed across the canvas of the sky, I held onto my gem’s hand and let the rest of the warm tears trickle down my cheeks.

I felt flooded with gratitude, that Alaska could simultaneously slap us with single digit degrees and then turn around and bless us with this otherworldly nighttime display.

Only in Alaska.

(and Norway, Finland Iceland, Greenland, Sweden, and Canada, amongst others)

At some point, the lights faded back into the atmosphere, and my gem and I made our way home.

We never stopped looking up though.

As I lay in bed later that night, bundled under layers of blankets, I remembered the shooting star I had seen earlier that evening.

Imagine I hadn’t been looking up.

Think about what I might have missed had that star not winked at me on its way across the sky.

It pays to pay attention.

It pays to notice, and to lean into our curiosities and honor our fascination with this planet.

We truly live in a wonderful world.

And with every unidentified object being shot down from the sky, there also lies a shooting star, reminding us that we have a lot to be grateful and appreciative for down here.