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(meteorobs) Fwd: Miracle Watching [spiritual musings on the Leonids]


Forwarded without permission of author or poster. Apologies to any who
might be offended, but I felt the nature of this essay made it necessary
to share it with the meteor observing community. If you follow up, please
MANUALLY put 'exit60@cablespeed.com' in the "Cc:" line of your reply!

Clear skies,
Lew Gramer <owner-meteorobs@atmob.org>


------- Forwarded Message

Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2001 21:33:02 -0500
From: Larry Cartwright <exit60@cablespeed.com>
To: ASTRO-L <astro-l@uwwvax.uwwdot edu>
Subject: [fwd][WWWEDU] Miracle Watching

I want to pass along an essay [following my sig] which was written this
morning, by a colleague from another discussion list, on the occasion of
experiencing the 2001 Leonids.  Ferdi is neither an astronomer nor a
hobby astronomer.  I was charmed by his poesy and captivated by his
observations about The Darkness.

Best wishes,

Larry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry Cartwright <exit60@ia4udot net>
Charlotte MI 48813 USA
Lat 42.564N Long 84.836W
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MIRACLE WATCHING
=A9 Ferdi Serim 2001
Reprinted with permission

It is 4:33 AM. It took a while to remember why the alarm was going off
so soon after I got into bed. I got up and looked out the window, and
sadly noticed it was cloudy. The brilliant carpet of stars that I've
become accustomed to as the New Mexico night sky showed only the
celebrities of the big dipper, Orion and a handful of stars you can see
even from cities.  However, I decided to give it a try.

I take shooting stars as signs, not that I know how to read them. Like
rainbows, they are more frequent here. In New Jersey, I can remember
which years, when and where I saw the handful that punctuated 27 years.
Each year we'd vacation on Cape Cod when they'd predict "the biggest
meteor shower in history" and I never saw one then (fog, storms or just
plain luck not working in my favor). So I was a bit skeptical. I put on
my heaviest coat and went outside.

I didn't have to wait long. There was a patch of open sky, and I trained
my eyes in that direction. However, the first one came through the haze.
Like listening to popcorn, the pace increased. What I have counted
before in years (and since I got to New Mexico, in months) now happened
in measure beyond anything in my life. I decided to do an experiment and
count how many seconds between....but instead settled on how many
breaths from one meteor to the next. As I did, I saw the
flow...sometimes it took as many as two breaths for the surprise. Each
time was a new delight. Soon I was seeing two and three per breath.
Sometimes I was seeing two or three at once. They come from all angles,
at all speeds. I even saw one that skipped like a stone, making a dashed
line through the roof of our sky.

Here are some thoughts that flashed through my mind, just like the bits
of cosmic dust, as they flared into our atmosphere...not quite lessons,
not quite answered prayers, but inspiring silent awe. Just like
their trails, the light from these glimpses fades so soon that I must
capture them now, to share them with you, so we may keep their light in
our hearts.

You must be willing.

Tiredness couldn't keep me from this experience. I will sleep soon
enough, long enough. I must be willing to keep open to experience, if I
am to have the experience, and all that comes with it.

The clouds can not obscure.

The intensity of this display cut through the haze. Originally I'd
wanted to go back to bed, because I couldn't even see the Milky Way.
However, the mind adjusts for intention. Most of those I saw were
through the shifting veil of high clouds. Sure some were too thick for
any light to penetrate, but there was always somewhere to look.

The sky is too big for us to see.

When I focus on any area, I can't see another. When I zoom back to take
in the widest view, I can notice that something happened, but not the
detail.  So it doesn't really matter where I look. It was so amazing
that I noticed the walls of my house lit from the diffused and reflected
light coming from all over, like you'd see lightning cast shadows.

The darkness is not your enemy, it is fragile.
 =

It takes time to see in the dark. I shut off all lights in the house to
keep my night vision, once I had it. I learned that I know where things
are even if I can't see them. The entire event was so fleeting that its
wonders only opened to the invitation of total darkness. In darkness, I
learned to see the trails, even after the first flash was gone.

You must protect yourself from cold.

Once I realized that the show outside wasn't going away, I kept adding
clothes so I could stay longer. First a hat. Then longjohns. Then
gloves. Then a hood. Next a chair. Then a coffee cup full of microwaved
water. The universe is a cold place. Cold is like silence, it absorbs
all. But the metabolic fires that come with life are sufficient, if we
prepare. The mind requires no heat, but the heart and soul do. Keeping
these togethermeans being careful and intentional with oneself.

The last time I went out, coyotes provided a primal soundtrack. I
wondered how many eyes were seeing this same miracle? Our civilized
lives argue against it. I can see no reason why anyone would need lights
on at 4 AM unless they are driving. There is little need for protection
out here, at least not in the same way that crime lights and security
are needed in cities and gated communities. The light pollution meant
that I could only look east...the clouds captured and amplified the
streetlights of Santa Fe, 12 miles to the Northwest. The lights mask our
fears, and show our reflex to replace ebb and flow with homogeneity, our
desire to master our environment. In doing so, to often we miss the most
profound, which makes itself known to us in the most subtle of ways.

As I looked, ever more at ease, I dared to pray for openness, that I
might receive the wisdom I need to get through this time. No voices came
into my head. No flashes of insight chose to appear, catching a ride on
the vanishing tails of wishes through the sky. At least not that I'm
aware of now. It may be that my subconscious knows the code for what
I've witnessed. It may be that it was the willingness to seek, to see,
to ask...that this was all that is needed...that this is all that I can
do. It may be that sharing this experience with you sets in motion healing
energies, which so many of us in this world need at this time.

As I sleep, my soul may feed on what the majesty of creation has shared
with me this early morning. May peace beyond all understanding enter our
hearts and guide our paths.

Ferdi

------- End of Forwarded Message
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