To Infinity and Beyond

It was there. We could see it with our own eyes. And yet, we couldn’t find it. And we had to find it because we would never be this close again - ever again. A few years ago, on August 27th, Mars made a close approach to Earth, coming nearer to us than it had done for approximately 60,000 years.

Our next door neighbor, Peter, owns a large telescope, complete with a tripod and he offered to bring it over, after dark of course, so the boys and my wife and I could see the Red Planet. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity which we did not want to pass up and so we enthusiastically agreed to convert our conservatory into an observatory.

It was a clear night with no clouds and almost perfect for viewing. Mars was visible with the naked eye but we were looking for a close-up. There was a sense of excitement in the house. We had allowed the boys to stay up late and it was dark inside as well as out because we had switched off the ‘observatory’ lights.

Peter lined up the telescope, which had a viewfinder attached near the top, much like the small telescopic sight on a rifle. As he trained the apparatus skyward, he explained to us that it was necessary to find Mars through the wide-angle viewfinder first and then use the main telescope to focus in on the subject.

By this time we were all eager to have the first look, Peter included. Within a few minutes he had found Mars in the viewfinder, but when he looked through the telescope, the planet was nowhere to be seen.

He explained that it was a bit like goofing a golf ball from the tee and watching it go soaring off course: the slightest movement of the telescope would throw the view millions of miles off course. But surely, it couldn’t be that difficult? Mars was clearly visible in the sky and we could see it with our own eyes!

One by one we all had a turn, each of us thinking that we would be the first to find the planet in the telescope. Like Peter, however, we all found Mars in the viewfinder but failed with the large zoom lens. It was an elusive mystery. Over and over each of us tried in vain. We sat back, bleary eyed and disappointed, especially for the boys sake. The excitement had mellowed. We sat in silence for a moment: Time to ponder; space to think.

And that was when it came to Peter like a shooting star. He jumped up! We hadn’t taken the lens cap off the end of the telescope! Now that might have seemed obvious, but on a dark night, in a dark room, looking out at a dark sky, it wasn’t the least bit obvious at the time and in our eagerness to see another world, we stumbled due to a simple mishap that almost cost us the opportunity of a lifetime.

It was when we created space for ourselves that the answer came into view. It was when we had time to ponder that the penny dropped. It was when we had time to think that we uncapped the conundrum.

If you cannot see the opportunities that are out there waiting for you then perhaps you should take some time out and make space for yourself. It is in such a vacuum that you will attract shooting stars. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities don’t come along every day but there is a galaxy of opportunity at the end of the viewfinder and all you need to do is point yourself in the right direction; uncap your heart’s desire and focus.

Aim for Mars and even if you miss you’ll land among the stars. Longfellow wrote,

Age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.It was there. We could see it with our own eyes. And yes.... we eventually found it.

Make space for the opportunity, because it is out there, waiting for you.