“I thank you God for most this amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is ‘yes’.”
– e.e. cummings

We are beings grounded by our bodies upon the Earth. We walk upright looking out toward the landscape that holds our attention, that holds our lives. We move here, live here, make relationship here, create here. And when we allow our eyes to travel upward, we are confronted with the blue expanse of sky, of what we think of as ‘the beyond’. This ‘beyond’ calls to our imagination in ways that is often shaped by those winged ones, the birds, that seem to live between landing on the Earth and lifting above it. 

What would it be like to be able to rise above our planted feet and soar over the ground that anchors us? I used to have a recurring dream of being able to fly…like the birds I watched and wondered over. It was not an anxiety driven dream. Instead, I would simply begin to move my arms as if I was swimming and before I knew it, there I was, rising above the Earth. Flying! It was exhilarating and carried an overwhelming feeling of freedom that stayed with me for a few moments upon waking.

Over the last days I had the joy of simply being able to watch the sky as I sat by one of Minnesota’s lakes. Once again, I was drawn to the magic and mystery of the sky. The expanse of it. The beauty of it. The colors being painted by light, weather and other elements I don’t claim to understand. Watching the changing shape of clouds and hues was mesmerizing. Standing on the shore with my feet firmly planted, watching the Sun slowly sink into the horizon of water, I was reminded of another time I stood with total strangers watching the sunset on Lake Michigan. All ages of people lined a bluff, mostly silent or speaking only in whispers, eyes trained on the sky. When the Sun seemed to dip into the stretch of water, everyone spontaneously applauded. I remember the joy that flooded me at this affirmation of Creation doing what it does everyday. Yet with these witnesses it became applause worthy. Observing the sunset show as I did this week, I applauded in my heart.

Sky. Clouds. Sunsets. Sunrises. We are poorer if we do not pay attention to their movement, their beauty, their magic, their mystery, their constancy. As land bound beings, it is wise to let our eyes wander upward and take a moment… or two… to give thanks for the blue that is our canopy. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” Indeed. And there are many ways to be nourished.

May we gaze upward this day to see how the Sky is offering bread for our eyes and, in turn, our souls.