Forget the cold…go out and revel in the full moonlight!

Cold, starry night—bright full moon orb rises over the ridge, gleaming onto the bay.

So slowly that I must look away then back again to measure it, an orangey glow spreads across her face. Her light fades to one bright spot on the edge, like an eyeball bouncing rays off its cornea. Then the moon simply darkens and becomes a mystical peach—glowing, rising between her acolytes Saturn and Regulus. For most of an hour as she climbs the sky, she hides her face from the sun in our shadow.

During the eerie totality, birds roosting on the old dock become agitated. Cormorants, geese and gulls whine and wail and wonder, watching the light on the water darken to red.

I shiver on the bluff, entranced, my desire for warmth overruled by this rare sight. I take this time to meditate on what aspects of my life are eclipsed by the daily glare of obligations and commitments. What promises to myself lie forgotten in my own shadow, only visible in this tangerine glow?

One immediately appears: To make every spin of the earth matter in the arc of my life. As I have long since passed my numerical zenith, I cannot afford to wake and sleep without some forward movement toward my goals. I simply cannot waste another cycle of breaths and heartbeats, another precious day. I must grasp my life and squeeze from it every drop of daily juice, as I do with my luscious Satsuma mandarins. Sometimes sweet, sometimes tangy, this vital nectar.

phases of the total lunar eclipse, click to enlarge

Then suddenly, the moon captures the light again in a brilliant blue burst at her edge. Slowly, silver dilutes the orange tinge until once again, she sails high in the sky in all her night white perfection. Round. Pure. My smiling companion.
I go inside, altered by this spectacle. Tomorrow I will wake in my orangerie.

Wander beneath other moons here.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What people or things may have been eclipsed lately in your life?
• Can you look at some challenge in a diferent light?
• What rarities in your life deserve honoring?

VIDEO

This brief video of a total lunar eclipse was shot through a telescope in Hawaii. It really gives you a different perspective, since it condenses hours of lunar spectacle into just over a minute. Enjoy!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.