Look down.

pre-s. No video this week, but they'll still be coming from time to time. One of the things the community over at Patreon has been clearest about is that you folks are most interested in seeing things like the Change Monsters and the novel come to life - so that's where I'm going to put the bulk of my energy for the next little while! If you want your voice to be heard in deciding the future of what I make, come on in and join us! :)

I was sitting, watching the sky curl from burnt pink to grey one evening, and all in a moment, it struck me.

I'm on a giant ball of dirt and iron spinning through space like some crazy top, flung out and forgotten.

The setting sun - relative to me - was perfectly still.

It was me, whizzing around it. At 60,000 miles an hour.

There are facts and figures my brain knows. the edge of space is closer to me than the edge of my own city. the stars are far-off molten explosions from aeons past. the moon's shape is down to nothing but our own shadow.

But honestly, in normal, everyday life, it doesn't feel that way. I forgive my ancestors for believing for so many years that the sun and stars went around us, that we were still and steady.

and then I'll catch a cloud. a star. a crest of wave,

and the bottom falls out.

I look down, feel down, and realize there's nothing there. Yes, a trillion trillion tons of rock, and from where I'm standing right now, a little bit of Andalusian countryside. But then? Nothing. Vacuum. A long, long way down.

My fear of heights kicks in and I wobble, eyeing the horizon.

deep breath.
still here.
still tiny.
still time to do something with it.

Have a here week,

-Steven

p.s. The best thing I saw all week was a new video by my secret hero, language expert Erik Singer - about pet peeves in language. I suspect it'll make you both laugh and think, too. :)