Six Planets. One Morning. And a Reminder That Wonder May Be Good for Us.

By Jarvus Ricardo Hester

When was the last time you looked up?

Not at a screen.

Not at a notification.

Not at the little red number telling you there are 47 things requiring your immediate attention.

I mean really looked up.

At the sky.

There is something happening above us this week that feels almost perfectly timed.

Before sunrise on August 12, six planets—Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Saturn and Neptune—will be spread across the morning sky in what’s commonly called a planetary parade.

Four can be seen without optical aid under good conditions. Uranus and Neptune require binoculars or a telescope.

And no, the planets aren’t actually forming a perfect line in space.

But from where we’re standing?

They’re putting on quite a show.

And perhaps we need it.

We Spend So Much Time Looking Down

Think about the physical position of modern life.

Head tilted.

Eyes lowered.

Phone in hand.

Walking down the street? Looking down.

Waiting for the train? Looking down.

Sitting at dinner? Occasionally, unfortunately, looking down.

Even when something beautiful happens, our first instinct is often to reach for a device so we can document the experience instead of actually experiencing it.

We’ve become remarkably good at recording our lives.

I’m not sure we’ve become equally good at living them.

Which is why I love the idea of millions of people around the world waking before sunrise simply to look at something they cannot buy.

You can’t upgrade it.

You can’t reserve the premium version.

There is no VIP section.

The sky doesn’t care what neighborhood you live in.

You simply have to show up.

The Luxury of Awe

We talk about wellness constantly.

Sleep.

Exercise.

Nutrition.

Meditation.

Skincare.

Supplements.

But there’s another ingredient we don’t discuss nearly enough.

Awe.

That feeling when you encounter something so much larger than yourself that, temporarily, the boundaries of your own problems seem to shrink.

A mountain can do it.

An orchestra can do it.

The ocean can certainly do it.

So can standing beneath a night sky and realizing that the tiny point of light you’re staring at is another world.

There’s something deeply comforting about being reminded that you are small.

Not insignificant.

Small.

There’s a difference.

Insignificance says you don’t matter.

Awe says you matter enormously…

but you are not the entire universe.

And frankly, some mornings that’s useful information.

New York Makes You Forget There’s a Sky

New York is particularly good at consuming your field of vision.

Buildings.

Traffic lights.

Advertisements.

Storefronts.

Scaffolding.

People.

More people.

Someone walking directly toward you while somehow looking completely sideways.

There’s always something demanding your attention.

And because of light pollution, we don’t experience the night sky the way someone far from the city might.

But the brighter planets can still break through.

That’s part of what makes tomorrow morning interesting.

You don’t necessarily need an observatory.

You don’t need to understand orbital mechanics.

Find the clearest eastern horizon you can.

Get somewhere with as little obstruction and artificial light as possible.

And look.

Some planets will be easier to spot than others, and Uranus and Neptune will require optical assistance.

But this isn’t really about collecting all six like celestial Pokémon.

It’s about stopping.

Five Minutes Without Needing Anything

Maybe that’s the real Mood assignment.

Give yourself five minutes tomorrow morning when nobody can ask anything of you.

No email.

No text.

No headline.

No productivity.

No performance.

Just you…

and something that was here billions of years before your calendar became so crowded.

Look at Jupiter.

Find Venus.

Watch the horizon brighten.

Take the photograph if you want.

Then put the phone away.

Because eventually the sun will rise.

The trains will fill.

The emails will arrive.

Somebody will need something.

Life will resume being life.

But for a few minutes before all of that happens, the universe is offering us something increasingly rare.

Perspective.

And it’s free.

So tomorrow morning…

before you look down…

look up.

Stay in the Mood

The story doesn’t end here.

Continue exploring Mood Magazine NYC, where wellness isn’t simply about how you look—it’s about how you experience your life.

Listen to WHRL Mood Radio Harlem and continue the conversation on The Morning Show NYC and After Hours NYC.

Listen. Read. Experience.

Let us curate your mood.

Mood Magazine NYC
Mind. Body. Spirit. Culture.
Harlem to the World.