Go somewhere with a dark sky, seriously, a really dark sky, and stare up (click here) . Grab a hammock, a reclining lawn chair, a sleeping bag, whatever it may be, put yourself in the reclined position and just watch. Get there a little bit before sunset, try to leave the electronics that we all depend on at home for this (Unless it's your camera). Take a friend, a family member, a spouse or a complete stranger and hang out. If it's cold, build a fire, it doesn't hurt the view, and it'll keep you warm. Bring makings for s'mores, just try not to stare at the fire too long, it takes time for your eyes to adjust.
Recline. Look. Realize.
Should you get there before sunset, get comfortable and watch. Things start to calm down, the sun sets, and all of a sudden you see a white dot on the horizon. Wait a couple more minutes, now there are ten, wait a little longer, and now the sky is littered with these dots (some smaller, some larger) and a "haze". At first, you think that haze is just that up there in the sky amongst all of those stars, then your night eyes adjust and another moment of realization occurs. That haze is billions of starts, and the belt of our Milky Way galaxy. Take a deep breath and think on that one for a minute. Then talk to whoever it is you're with about it.
When there are clouds in the sky, ride it out. It's an opportunity to get away from the world, take it. Three nights in a row, we gambled, and it paid off. If nothing else, it's an opportunity for you to get to hang out with someone you want to away from it all. I'm not going to explain what I felt here, when I sat back and watched, nor will I use a biblical verse, or some profound statement to try to give what I saw meaning. There are no words that can explain sitting down and seeing this in person. Let's go watch it and talk about it sometime..
