Stargazing

“Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.”

J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Every morning my alarm clock goes off at 5:59am. Sometimes I am awake, sometimes deep asleep. I curl my fingers around the edges of my flannel sheet, red blanket, and quilt and draw them close, tucking them under my chin. Feelings of comfort and security surround me. Bracing for the “news of the day,” I retreat into my blanket cave. Some days I can be a good citizen, listen intently and be informed. Other days, I turn off the radio, ushering in an uneasy pairing of gratitude and guilt for the ability to change my reality by sliding a button. Much of the natural world, its people and creatures do not have this luxury.

Attempting to strike a balance between gratefulness, despair and helplessness, I find solace in tending my garden. Pulling weeds and tired veggies, I replace them with seeds of red kale, colorful beets and green romaine lettuce. The daylight passes as I look down and dig rows in the soil. Sprinkling the seeds and protecting them with a light cover of dirt reminds me I am tending and caretaking the earth. Small steps.

In the late afternoon, I happen to glance up. Eggshell blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds floats overhead. The expanse and magnitude of this view is astonishing. Why do I not look up more often?

Evening arrives with twilight, then darkness. Heading outside, I look up again. Single stars, twinkle alone. Groups of stars form constellations. These patterns often represent an animal, mythological creature or even an inanimate object…cue the Big Dipper’s handle and bowl!

I realize we are all under the same night sky! The stars, the planets and endless galaxies coexisting in space. This image helps us to realize our connection here on this earth. We may feel small but together we can hold a higher vision for the world! We will not give up. We will look up! We can send out our highest intentions for healing and compassion to all. This is our collective wish…to shift our vision upward and take small measures everyday to move forward to that end.

Perhaps Mother Earth curls her fingers around the edges of the sky, draws it close and tucks it under her chin each night.

“Star light, star bright,

The first star I see tonight;

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have the wish I wish tonight.”

Alan Moore, Miracleman, Book Two: The Red King Syndrome