Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower, which swings by annually, began yesterday.

I’ll never forget a few years ago when I drove to a state park to get a prime view of the meteor shower during its peak around mid August.

One particularly spectacular meteor, which appeared to be the size of a baseball stadium, flew by, briefly illuminating the night sky.

My cousin, who was with me, and I both dropped our jaws.

“Wooow,” we remarked to each other before promptly shifting our gaze back to open space.

In that moment, all the weight from what was a really long week seemed to evaporate.

It’s not so much that I forgot about life’s problems, but rather they’d shrunken in size after the meteor reminded me of just how small they truly are in scale relative to the universe.

When we’re sufficiently stressed about a problem, it’s easy to forget these proportions and feel like the fate of the universe some how hinges on it.

Reminding ourselves that this is not the case, that however significant the problem we are confronted with may seem and regardless of how it pans out, we will find a way forward, can provide significant relief.