Last night I was up at 2:30AM to look at and ponder the spectical of the Lunar Eclipses. After pulling on three layers of pants and shirts, a sweater, hat, gloves and winter coat, I walked out the front door and began to search the sky. The sky was clear, so clear I could see a great number of stars and planets even with strong street lights. Then I spotted her. I almost missed her draped in a burnt orange handkerchief. The way the light hit the moon it looked more three dimensional than usual.
I sat down on the front steps and thought about the last time people of this continent looked up and saw the moon appear the way it looks tonight. I imagine those folks ran from home to home calling people out to witness the event. I imagine the people going to the leadership of the community looking for guidence. They might have even spent time praying together as a community concerned what this sign might mean.
Last night, the neighborhood was quite. The sound of traffic was diminished but still audible. What a difference 372 years make.
Today is the Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year), are you doing anything special to mark this night?
Come join me and the folks at DaySpring Christmas Eve, December 24th. We get together at 5PM to read the story together and sing songs of the season.
1 comment:
It was amazing to think about what you had written. I was up at my usuall time of zero-dark-thirty (4:30) and saw the last minutes of the lunar eclipse. I noticed the orange hue and thought about how many years ago, people would have thought the world was coming to an end or at least they should sacrifice someone...
In years past, there would have been a big anouncement in the schools and on the news and in several districts, they may have excused people from school to take in the unusual occurrance. Now we don't even pay attention, we can't even afford the time to discuss it in class, gotta prep for those assessments!!! Sometimes I feel like the 'Mad Hatter', I am late, I am late for a very important date, and I never have time to enjoy "the roses".
Have we now gone so far past the everyday occurrance to ensure our future that we can't see the "today"? Maybe our grandparents and parents in their youth were better off, even without our modern conveniences...
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