There are times when I just want to go out and look up at the sky; times that I could stare for hours and hours at the innumerable constellations containing stars and planets that shine ever so brightly despite how far away they are. I wish I could just go away by myself or with a close friend watching the night skies just sitting there wondering about what's out there, beyond our solar system.

The universe is so vast and even now we are just beginning to comprehend what it holds. We know little as a collective and our knowledge is only a small percentage of what we will know in the future. Looking up at that almost lucid, luminous sky that roars with never-ending life gives me some sense of solace.

It also gives me peace.

There is something about those stars that is absolutely enthralling to gaze at. Sometimes I believe I could fade away amongst the stars and not have to worry about the burdens of this world.

My only hope is that this is heaven. Floating, a spirit, amongst the stars. No boundaries except where I want my mind to take me. That is my dream. To one day sail through the vast and incomprehensible ocean that is space, through nebulas and massive star clusters.

No amount of dreams could match the intensity and vivaciousness that the universe offers. It is a divine creation for us to explore and we should grasp that opportunity. Instead of living our lives confined to a shell of a planet we must branch out and explore. It is our divine providence to do so. Already, we have probes and rovers sent out to other planets and stars.

Every day we learn something new and sometimes we even find that our previous thinking was wrong. Every day we find some amazing, stunning new element of our world that challenges even the most steadfast of ideas and beliefs.

However, let not our exploration be confined to our own solar system. We must as nations, as a world, but most importantly as people push to learn more about what lies beyond the skies. We must do this to propel ourselves forward. Nothing is standing in our way but ourselves.

Many times I wonder who the first person was to look up at the skies and notice its beauty and wonder what lies beyond.

Who was the first person to actually notice our universe’s extravagance and not take it for granted? Who was that first person to spark a kindling in mankind not just to explore our own planet but those beyond? Whoever it was I thank them.

I thank them for the achievements we have accomplished and those to come which only God knows. We know nothing except that our fate is sealed. Our destiny is to roam the skies and stars. For thousands of years, the people of Earth have pondered the possibilities of space and what it consists of. If only they could see us now.

We’ve sent men to the moon not once but several times. Even today there is talk of sending men as far as Mars. In the near future, I can even imagine colonies on other celestial bodies.

However, let us hope that we do not lose sight of the reason we are out there in the untamed wilds of the universe. We are out there because we are curious. Curious about what lies beyond our planets, solar systems and even our galaxy.

We are curious about what we will find and what we won’t. I can only imagine the sheer excitement that the first man in space felt as he finally passed through the Earth’s atmosphere into a vastly unknown realm. For all we knew there could have been nothing up there. Yet our curiosity got a hold of us and hauled us into the endless vanity of space.

Ever since we have been hooked. Like a drug, space has intrigued us since day one and I believe that as long as we allow, it will until the end. So when I look out my window on a crisp winter night when the sky is clear and I can see a star shining brightly in the distance, I like to imagine that maybe one day I might be on that star looking back down at Earth.