The Thing You Never Knew You Needed

Think of a time when you were the most at peace. When was that? Maybe it was sitting by the fireplace reading a good book, maybe it was at your grandma's house, maybe it was while boating on a lake, but for me it is when I look up at the sky. No matter the time of day, sunset or sunrise, dusk or dawn, storm or sun, it always quiets my brain and makes me feel at peace. Throughout the last couple of months, I have been struggling mentally, so to help that I like to take sunset or sunrise walks. These walks have helped me so much! Those moments are my favorite. Those moments are calm and happy and peaceful.

The sky is such a wonderful and curious thing and in a way it is like humans. Humans have their good days, sunshine, and the bad days, storms. Sometimes we shine bright like a blazing sunset, other days we glow like a subtle sunrise. Our moods go up and down throughout the day, as does the sun. We as humans need the sky to live because we need the sunlight to grow our food, but what if the connection between humans and the sky is deeper? What if we need the sky for other things too? For me, I need the sky to quiet my brain during stressful days. I need the sky to lighten my mood during the dark days and to calm me down during the crazy days. I need the sky to put my mind at ease and to feel at peace.

Some people don’t fully appreciate the wonders of the sky. When you look up it's not just one sky: it’s a nighttime sky full of stars, then it's a peaceful sunrise on a lake, then it’s the lovely painted sky with the wondrous and ever changing clouds, those clouds then turn to a storm; a loud and thunderous storm, and lastly it ends in a blazing sunset. The sky is a wondrous, changing, beautiful, chaotic, and intriguing thing. Next time you feel stressed or anxious, try and find something that brings you peace and joy as the sky does for me.

This picture was taken at my family cabin that I go to with my mom’s side of the family every summer. At this point in time, I was struggling mentally, but after going to the lake I always feel better. The sky always puts my brain at ease and makes me feel peaceful.

Ox lake is the lake I go to every summer with my dad’s side of the family. With as many people as there are at the cabin, it gets very overwhelming. To escape the noise I like to go outside and watch the sunset because it puts my mind at ease.

This is a picture I took driving home from a busy weekend in Minnesota. We had to leave at dawn because I had to be back for a dance dress rehearsal at noon. This is the sky at sunrise as we were driving home.

This photo was taken at the family cabin with my mom’s side of the family that I mentioned earlier. This photo is at night though. I took this photo while sitting in a hammock reading because the sky looked so beautiful and calm.

This is the phenomenon of a double rainbow, but the rainbows are pink! The sky is constantly changing and creating gorgeous sights.

I took this photo while in Philadelphia because I thought the clouds looked interesting. I love just shutting my mind off and watching the clouds move and make new formations!

This is a photo I took while on a boat on Mendota. I took this photo because I thought the sky looked stunning.

This is a picture I took a few years ago at a cabin with my dad’s side of the family. This is everyone at a bonfire at night. I took this picture because I thought the stars were fascinating.

*Author took all of the photos