It’s been this way for the past few days, well really most of my life. Drawn to the light of the moon. A full moon. I’ve been mesmerized by this wonderous sight for as long as I can remember.
I rise early, around 5am each day and the past few early mornings, the light shining into the giant window just above my front door has illuminated the entire staircase as I begin my descent to the kitchen, well before dawn. Tonight, March 27th, the light was bright as ever, even more so, as it helped light the way during the late night walk with my dog, Ollie. I always pay it attention. You must appreciate the constants in your life, if you want to remain constant yourself. A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the sun, rising and setting and how it bookends our days (The Good Light), and we should heed its lesson and do the same ourselves to take control of our own lives. The moon has a different effect on me, because you can actually look at it, stare at it and feel a sense of wonder.
That wonder has captured my attention since I was a little boy. I can still remember when I was 7-years-old walking up the street at night to my best friend’s house and looking up at the moon, and wondering just what my life might be like. When I was 21, having just graduated college and living at the beach for the summer, I can still remember sitting on the porch of this beach house, looking up at the full moon, and wondering what my life was about to become. What was next? Where would the light of my years take me? More than a quarter of a century later, I look up at the moon with the same sense of wonder, because the journey takes you places you never expect, yet the light shining down is exactly the same. It’s not changing. I am, we are, but that light, surrounded by the same stars, shines exactly the way it did when I was young. What’s cool is how I can mark time and moments by that light. When I make a wish, it’s not on a star, it’s directed at the man in the moon.
And I still do it from time to time, why not? What have I got to lose? But the years of life also mean experiencing loss, and it’s the light of that same moon where I can feel the presence of those who are gone too soon. My father-in-law, I can still see his smile. My friend, I can still see the light of his warm and caring soul. It’s all there, up in that moon. Sometimes I try and stare too long and too hard, trying to focus on the shapes of faces and large land masses. Somehow I think they are going to change. No such luck. Then again, who really wants it to? I like the consistency, the moonlight connects me with days gone by and with hope for days to come.
It’s magical, it’s mystical, that moon. And it starts from scratch, rebuilding itself every cycle. It’s like turning nothing into something. The same thing I try to do every time I sit at this keyboard and start to write. It’s just an image, an idea, a thought. Put words around that thought and if it works right, there’s light. I hope you can see it, I’m doing my best to create that light every day. My goal is to share and to illuminate the heart and soul. It’s my way to give back.
And to try to find a way to shine, for you.
Until next time, thanks for taking the time.
Mark