Beyond the Now

This weekend I looked up and noticed the beautiful moon glowing in the evening sky. Whatever the stage of the moon, when I see it shining brightly above, I can’t help but smile. In that moment, I realize that people everywhere are sharing this same glowing delight—whether they are near or far.

Since I was little, I have called the crescent moon “Chessie,” after the famous Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. It always fascinated me. My parents would often point it out, and I found myself looking for it each month with a quiet sense of wonder.

When my daughter was growing up, I began pointing out Chessie smiling in the sky to her as well. Throughout her childhood, it became our own little ritual.

Now, as adults, wherever we may be traveling in the world, we sometimes text just a single word — Chessie — reminding each other to look up and see that same moon shining above us. It is a small but powerful reminder that we are never truly separate beneath the same sky.

Today, my daughter shares that same reminder with her own little girls — a tradition that will continue long after I am gone. Each time the crescent moon appears, I am reminded that hope, like the moon, returns — steady, faithful, and shared.

In times of stress or upheaval, simply looking up at the night sky can gently shift our perspective. It reminds us that we are part of something larger than our worries in the moment.

Sometimes the smallest rituals — like looking up at the same moon — remind us that even when life feels uncertain, we are still connected… and never truly alone.

Tonight…look up.

— Beyond the Now

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