The photo above was a winner of the 2013 Earth and Sky Photo Contest. It was taken by Stephanie Vetter and shows a beautiful look at the Milky Way galaxy over the Aurora Borealis in Iceland.

Not many pictures can reinforce just how small we are within the vastness of the universe. The dense arc of stars in the picture is our galaxy and to think that there are billions of other galaxies out there is staggering to me. Photos like this remind me that I am one person among billions on a planet among billions in a galaxy among billions. Suddenly whatever problems may be front and center today seem smaller and insignificant … and much more easily handled.

There’s no denying the beauty of the world around us. We just have to look.