Travels

The universe is truly huge.
Our minds it overpowers.
But somewhere in that great abyss
are other minds like ours. 
To reach those other minds we'll go
miles counted in the trillions.
And when we finally do, mankind
will celebrate in billions. 

I don't know what the future holds,
technology is changin'.
Perhaps I'll be the first of us
to meet an alien.
Through the endless empty space,
quadrillion miles I'll travel.
To unfamiliar planets go -
for humans that will matter. 

Before I reach those future days,
got space to cover here.
Across the hall my neighbor lives
who needs a little cheer.
Through my front door,
down the hall,
one hundred feet I'll travel.
An unfamiliar face I'll greet.
To one, that trip will matter. 

Life is good but also hard.
Been lost and gotten scars.
Sometimes I feel a stranger here
my mind is in the stars.
My wandering mind has come to you.
Don't know how far I traveled.
You made this planet feel like home.
To you, I know I matter.

-B.C. Byron

This poem is a little bit about me, but I think it applies to others who have big dreams and big ideas. I can get so absorbed in thoughts of far futures, space travel, cool inventions, math problems, or even just a good book. These things fill me with wonder and my head gets so far out into the stars that I fail to notice the world around me. I have a hard time getting back to Earth. More importantly, I can forget the needs of others when I’m in that place. Sometimes I’ve been called a “space case” when my brain really gets going on a new poem and I don’t want to pay attention anything else until it’s done. I find it’s good to take breaks from my mental universe and share my thoughts with somebody impprtant to me, and then hear their thoughts too. It makes my big ideas that much more incredible.

Big ambitions and lofty goals don’t have to get in the way of being there for your family, friends, and neighbors. My work and my hobbies and my influence on the world are important and powerful, but so is my influence on the handful of people I see every day. There is somebody nearby who’s feeling like an alien today and they need you to notice.

This poem reminds me to keep dreaming and doing big things and also keep reaching out to the rest of humanity. I can do both. We need each other as much as we need amazing discoveries.