Some people are afraid to look at the world.

They’re afraid to look up

and gaze at a star on the eve

of an equinox

at twilight

and feel what it means to be in the world and not.

To be here, yet in between.

Like the transition of day into night, night into day,

season into season,

and all things ephemeral and passing.

Some people are afraid to look at the world

because it’s like looking in a mirror

and they are afraid to answer the questions

the reflection asks.

“Are you listening in this world?”

“Are you watching? Are you awake?”

“Are you living as if this is your first time here

and your last?”

“Open your ears,” the world tells you.

“Open your eyes.”

“Look at me. Listen to me. See me. Feel me."

To be alive in this world, there is nothing more important one can know than this.