For the last two weeks it has been clear at night. As I walk to my cabin in the evenings and mornings, I can see the moon and stars surrounding the bowl shaped field where I live.
Some nights they are especially bright. This morning, a perfect half moon hung in the sky, next to venus. For a while the moon has been in the west, where it was visiting mars. There seemed to be a line of three planets next to it for several days. Then, as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished, and the moon sailed east, towards sunrise.
There hasn't been a time in my life where I've so regularly walked beneath the night sky. I think people on ships really know the stars, because at sea the sky is so open.
Contemplating the stars, there is a lot to take in. The night sky is busy and active, like an epic tale unfolding every night. Somehow, noticing the rhythms is soothing. I guess because they take me out of my own tumultuous life experience, in this sometimes difficult and beautiful world.
If you’re wrestling with difficult experiences right now, I’d really recommend these two podcast episodes. They will take a while to finish, they are worth taking in slowly, over time, and maybe even journaling about. There’s so much there.
The Heart of Meditation, Part One
The Heart of Meditation, Part Two
Thanks for reading,
— Hudson