Under an Infinite Sky

There’s something about the sky that has always compelled me to relax into it. Something soothing and magical.

As a child, I was fascinated with all things nature, especially tree and sky.

It was my habit to climb trees, even the scary ones, to be in communion with the treetops and the sky so I could somehow feel a part of the universe in which I lived.

Throughout my lifetime, I’ve looked to the sky for meaning, searching for clues as to why we are here.

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I grew up in a small village, climbing the tree that sheltered our fort in the way back yard.

Our fort was just a dip in the dirt next to the tree, just big enough for five or six kids to sit in, but it was mostly sheltered from view by the trees and the brush surrounding it.

But it was earthbound, so I climbed into the sky as high as I dared through sap and limbs finally clinging to the narrowed trunk as I swayed in the breeze.

As close to heaven as I could possibly get.

As far into the sky as I could manage.

One with both tree and sky in awe and wonder.

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In college, I found myself in the Adirondacks at a school with thousands of acres of forest land and an endless sky.

More than once I was lucky enough to experience the Northern Lights dancing across that infinite sky; greens and purples shifting shapes with a fluidity that defied logic.

Magnificent!

Under that sky I learned to canoe and hiked trails and tried cross country skiing.

I cruised timber and surveyed the quad.

I used snow shoes and helped make maple syrup.

I spent countless hours with friends of all kinds getting an education, not just a schooling.

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In Hawaii, the sky was vast, challenged only by the vastness of the ocean. It was the most magical of places.

The scent of the flowers was intoxicating.

The boundary between heaven and earth had all but vanished leaving the sky to connect with heaven from above and below.

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Under the Georgia sky, where I’ve been for almost forty years, I’ve lived a good life.

Under this beautiful and infinite sky I raised my children and loved my grandchildren.

We witnessed baby sea turtles hatch on a moonless night and make their way to the sea.

Gardens have been planted and harvested.

My husband and I once sat on the tailgate of our pickup as hundreds of dragonflies appeared from out of the field behind us and surrounded us for minutes as we sat in awe.

We built a barn and had bonfires and picked wildflowers and treasured the earth.

We’ve marveled at the stars in the night sky because the beauty of a backwoods sky is most conspicuous at night when it’s dark and the stars congregate in the far away just close enough to be seen.

Under an infinite sky, I have found the most precious of gifts.

Love.

~~~