Look up!

During the school holidays our family visited the Australian Space Agency Visitors Centre on North Terrace (if you haven’t been there, you should). The amount of time, money and effort currently being spent on understanding and exploring space is phenomenal.

Our family visit reminded me of the power of looking up. How long since you and your children have stopped to wonder at the stars?

Now, as the dark sky returns earlier each day it is MUCH easier to take kids out for a therapeutic gaze at the sky.

I may never personally step foot on Mars, but standing in wonder at that small red dot in the sky (and the millions of others) can certainly make me lighter on my feet here on earth.

Research continues to highlight the positive impact that star gazing can have. Below are just a few examples of this. Can I encourage you to take the time to look up this week, and perhaps make a habit of it with your family?

Stars are awesome – awe is an emotional state that pyschologists know is healthy and positive. Contemplating something as vast as the night sky makes us feel small in the best possible way.

Looking up can make you kinder – One study suggests that by feeling small we become more aware of things outside of ourselves. ‘By diminishing the emphasis on the individual self, awe may encourage people to forgo strict self-interest to improve the welfare of others.”, said lead researcher, Dr Paul Piff.

Stare gazing slows you down – When you’re staring at the night sky there's nothing to do but stop, watch and reflect – which has plenty of benefits for our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.

It’s not all dark – stargazing reminds us that even in times of darkness, light persists. The same is true for life, no matter how dark our current experience may be the light will always shine through.

It holds our gaze – the more we learn about space, the more we don’t know. Looking up reminds us that exploring, questioning and searching should be a constant pursuit

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Psalm 19:1-4