Stargazing and an Epiphany

Saturday night, I went with a bunch of friends up to Ice House Road, Pollock Pines, to go stargazing.  It was a beautiful night.  The sky was clear, we were far above any light pollution from the city, and it wasn't as cold as I had expected.  There were several shooting stars throughout the night.  And I swear, there were more stars visible than I'd seen in the planetarium when I took astronomy.

This was the point where I had my epiphany.  One of my friends pointed out that seeing so many stars in such a vast, open space makes him feel small, which he didn't really like.  Personally, I love seeing so many stars and God's beautiful creations.  I never really think about how small and insignificant we really are until I look at the big, intergalactic, eternal picture.  And unlike my friend, I realized,

I like to feel small.

That sounds so strange, but I like to know there is more out there than what I can see and feel around me.  I even like when I find people that know more than me.  Granted, I'm not so fond of people that try to one-up me, especially in my own strengths.  For some reason, I like the humbling experience of realizing I don't know everything--so long as that realization doesn't come from someone being cocky.  (I used to be one of those "know-it-all"s, but I like to think I've changed.)

I love to learn.

If I find out that you know something interesting that I don't, I will likely ask you questions.  Pick your brain.  Learn what I can.  Until my curiosity is satisfied.

And I think this kind of brings me back to my post "What are YOU thinking about?"  I realize, I am kind of a know-it-all, and that is intimidating.  But really, I don't care if you know anything about nursing, or physiology, or chemistry, or biology, or mathematics.  I like when my friends have different backgrounds and strengths because then we lift each other up.  We teach each other.  We learn together.  And to me, that's what friendships and relationships are all about, people working together to better themselves and each other.  So, instead of being intimidated by intelligent, or experienced, or brave, or bold people, I think we should seek them out.  If you meet someone that knows something different from you, has a different opinion, or even just a different personality, become their friend.  Maybe you can learn something from them and they can learn something from you at the same time.  You'd be surprised.