| “You need power only when you want to do something harmful, otherwise love is enough to get everything done.” ~ Charlie Chaplin |
| A few nights ago I met up with a group of friends at 5pm. It was still light, but since we live in a river valley with ancient steep mountains to the west, once the sun dips behind them, it grows dark quickly. As dogs and children ran ahead, we started our hike up the steep hillside. Nearing our stopping place, a large rock outcropping, I glanced back toward the valley below and the other, lower mountain chain that lies to the east. For a moment I was in shock when I saw a large orange light. I thought there was a fire up on the distant ridge. Thankfully it was not a fire, but I was still unsure of what I was seeing when my friend walked past and said “look it’s the moon poking out of the clouds!” The full moon was the reason we had gathered for the hike. We wanted to watch it rise from the valley close to the winter solstice. Sitting on the rocks watching its glow as clouds came and went – I felt a profound sense of peace. It wasn’t ‘peaceful’ with a pack of chattering kids and dogs. Yet still somehow the moon and the cold air and the clouds flying past, transported me. I was in awe. When we experience something bigger than us – longer standing, older, stronger or simply mysterious and beautiful – it can touch us and help us transcend from the everyday to the universal. It can inspire us. We have all lived through a lot in the past few years. And while we know that life cannot exist without suffering and pain – in order to learn from it and not just feel beaten down by it – we need something transcendent too. We need to be able to be in it and to see beyond it. We need to be able to be in our day to day life and create and experience a greater fabric that we are a part of. That is what awe does. It transcends the moment and connects us to a million other moments and things. Art, music, dance, sex, childbirth, love, nature, meditation, and many more things can inspire awe and transcendence. And the experience of it transforms us. We somehow know we are connected to that amazing thing or experience and that we are somehow connected to a life force. That connection or feeling of it – it makes our lives grow. It gives us insight into our selves, an ability to forgive and love, a desire to connect and carry on in the face of adversity, a dream and plan for how things could be better. The more I learn about the human body and brain – the more awe I have. Not less. Awe is not magic. It is a deep appreciation – for the complexity of our lives and at how many things go right. I am beginning to reflect on the past year today on Solstice and as we near the Gregorian calendar for 2021. In the northern hemisphere tonight will be the darkest night. I welcome that – I love the mystery of the darkness. I love all that is born out of it. I love all that I don’t know and have yet to experience and to be amazed by. I love that even after a tough few years on the planet there are still many of us who are looking for ways to love and to grow. Keep on with your love, Astra |
