How High the Moon

Welcome to August! "How High the Moon," composed by Morgan Lewis, is a jazz song so popular that at one point, it was competing for titles like "National Anthem of Jazz" and "Most Recorded Jazz Song." While originally composed as a slow ballad, musicians like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane were quick to play the song, well, quickly, and write their own melodies using its chords.

While I probably should have posted this song on the week of the Moon Landing's anniversary, I can still inform you how far away the moon is from the Earth.

In your head, they probably look like this:

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay 

However, most images of "celestial bodies" are not to scale. Here's the actual distance between the Earth and the Moon. It's probably hard to see either of them.

You can probably see this more easily


You may have noticed something interesting. What appears to be right in this picture is actually up from the perspective of the Earth. If the moon rotated 180 degrees, it would also be above the Earth.

So then, is the moon really high after all, if up is any direction away from the Earth? What is 'up', and what is 'down'?

Answer: There's lots of things we don't know about the universe.

Here's another interesting brain twister about directions. Suppose you were driving a car at 60 kilometers an hour. According to the car, you yourself are not moving, but according to the road, you are moving.

Then, you stop the car. But have you really stopped? After all, the Earth is rotating, and it's moving around the Sun, which is moving around the Milky Way, which is moving around relative to other galaxies....

So, you don't really know how fast you are moving. You don't know which way is down, or left, or backwards. Sometimes, our view of the world can change when we look at not the things we know, but the things we don't know.

When you only think about the things you know, you start to feel like you are the center of the universe. But when you look at the things you don't know, you realize that the world is much bigger, and you are much smaller, than you once believed.

But, don't be disappointed. Those thoughts can also remind you not to worry about small failures that really don't matter anymore. You still have a purpose in life, don't you? And every second counts towards fulfilling it. Now it's your turn.

If you're worrying about failing or not being important, let this song remind you to take a look at the moon tonight. Then, try counting some stars. Five? Ten? Maybe three billion more that you can't see?

Image by Annalise Batista from Pixabay

When you're done counting all those stars, go and fill your teacup with music!

~Liya