A Whole New World

When I was younger, I would go camping out in the mountains of New Mexico. The amazing part of this was the silence, the openness, and at night, the vastness of the nights sky. You could lay on the ground and stare out into the stars for hours. We use to try to count the stars, an impossible feat, but it was fun trying.

To this day I still enjoy star gazing. I am amazed at what the universe has, I imagine what else is out there, and wonder are they thinking the same thing about us.

How often do you take the time to soak up your surroundings? For me it is the night sky, for others it could be a forest or a city park, or even the buildings of a major city. The world is full of amazing and interesting characteristics, you just have to stop and soak it in.

I recall a story about a group of people on a retreat, the retreat had them walk from building to building outdoors. The group stay together mostly as a whole, except for one person. This person lagged behind, this person did not have any physical inabilities, and the rest of the group wondered why he took so long. One day another member asked him. He stated that he is observing the other world, other world? Remarked the questioner, yes, if you look below our feet there is a whole world underneath it, plants, grasses, dirt, microorganisms, and other bugs. If you just look down you see a whole metropolis going to work. It is quite amazing when you start looking at it. THe next time the group went outside everyone was looking down and the pace to get from one building to the next slowed dramatically.

When the group got inside, everyone was talking about what they saw, it was almost as if a fresh breath of air got inside of everyone, the room was electrified. All by slowing down and looking down.

If you don’t already have a place that lets you get in awe of your surroundings, I encourage you to find one, in most cases you don’t have to look to far, a whole new world is right below your feet.