There is an expression in English: “cry for the moon.”

Literally, it means crying for the moon—to want something that cannot possibly be obtained.

The meaning is simple: to desire the impossible.

In a rational society, the phrase is often used as a warning.

“Be realistic.”

“Don’t ask for something impossible.”

To cry for the moon is often seen as childish, naïve, or detached from reality.

But here is a question worth asking.

If human beings had truly lived by that rule—if we had only pursued what was already possible—would our civilization even exist?

Consider the milestones of human history.

Learning to control fire.

Crossing vast oceans.

Flying through the sky.

Traveling beyond Earth into space.

At one time, every one of these achievements seemed impossible.

In other words, civilization itself might be the result of humanity repeatedly crying for the moon.

People desired what others said could never be done.

They reached for it, often while being ridiculed for trying.

And eventually, some of those impossible dreams became reality.

That seems to be part of what it means to be human.

And today, in the 2020s, humanity is once again turning its eyes toward the Moon.

Through programs like NASA’s Artemis missions, along with efforts from international space agencies and private companies, the idea of returning to the Moon—and even building a sustained presence there—is no longer science fiction. It is part of real plans being developed today.

For centuries, “crying for the moon” existed only as a metaphor.

But now humanity is, quite literally, trying to reach the Moon again.

There is a quiet irony here.

Human beings reached the Moon precisely because, for so long, we kept longing for what seemed unreachable.

Cry for the Moon.

Originally, the phrase carried a sense of irony.

It meant, “Don’t ask for something impossible.”

But if humanity had truly followed that advice, philosophy, science, art, and religion might never have emerged in the forms we know today.

Each of them begins with the same impulse: the desire to reach beyond what we already understand.

Philosophy searches for truth.

Religion speaks of eternity.

Science explores the structure of the universe.

Art tries to give form to emotions that cannot easily be explained.

None of these pursuits are ever completely finished.

And yet we continue.

We keep looking up at the night sky.

Reason tells us, “That is beyond your reach.”

But somewhere deeper within us, another voice whispers something different.

Reach anyway.

Perhaps human beings are creatures who live on Earth while carrying a faint memory of the sky.

That might be why, from time to time, we find ourselves looking at the Moon without fully knowing why.

Cry for the Moon.

Maybe it is not foolishness after all.

Maybe it is simply the most natural response a conscious being can have when facing a universe far larger than itself.

We know we may never fully reach it.

And still, we reach.

英語には “Cry for the Moon” という言葉がある。

それは「届かないものを求める愚かさ」を意味する。

だが本当に、それは愚かなことなのだろうか。

もしかすると、人間とは、月を欲しがる生き物なのかもしれない。

心晴れるまで

土屋梨沙