This morning when I went outside, I noticed, again, how vividly blue the sky is at this time of year – as blue as if sprung from the pages of a child’s coloring book. No wonder people think heaven is in the sky, I thought.

Each year we have this deep blue but each year it seems new again, never seen, or not seen enough to remark upon.

The photo is from our last full moon, one morning, from my window. But this morning’s sky only stretched blue.

People raked leaves; children too small to be helpful crunched at the edges or fell into a pile. Someone else used a blower to clear dust and leaves off the sidewalk – too much dust, actually, and I had to take a detour around them.

It made sense, this idea of heaven in the sky. No clutter, a wide expanse of beauty, soft clouds (even with none present today). Isn’t that what we want the after life to be?

No falling leaves need raking in the sky, no work to do, nothing to fix or repair, no winter to prepare for. No wood to stack or garden to put to bed for the winter. Only beauty.

I passed a man about my age quietly sweeping off his driveway. He looked up and nodded a hello.

“Isn’t the sky a beautiful blue?” I said. “It’s like this every fall and I don’t remember until it’s here.

He stopped working and leaned on the broom handle as he looked up.

“Looking at that, it makes sense for people to think heaven is in the sky,” I said.

He smiled and nodded again. “That’s an inspiring thought,” he said. “We need to look up more often.”

He’s right. We do.

When I’m deep in thought I tend to walk with my head down as if my mind is a weight for my head. It probably is. I’ve also noticed that when my head’s up, I notice my surroundings and have fewer thoughts weighing me down.

So lift your head, wherever you are – running errands or raking leaves or on the highway. Notice the sky.

And there you are: in heaven.