A couple of days ago, a colleague at work mentioned going out on the lake with friends and trying to catch a glimpse of this years Perseid meteors shower. I’ll admit, I had no clue of what she spoke.
Turns out that every year around this time our dearly beloved planet Earth passes through the orbit of the Swift-Tuttle comet and the debris from the comet is visible as streaking lights across the night sky as it burns up from entering the earth’s atmosphere.
I thought how neat. I loved to gaze at the stars as a child in Ghana and in Germany in good old “God, are you there?” fashion. Even now I marvel when rare opportunities arise to see the stars in the light polluted world I live in. But never have I been able to make heads or tails of the dots above.
My colleague said, “Oh it’s so easy. Just find the W.” “The W?” I queried. “Yeah, the W constellation, Cassiopeia” she replied. “Okay” I said, skeptically. “Then if you look below it, you will the Perseus constellation – Thursday night would be your best bet to see the show”. “Okay”. I was still skeptical.
When I got home that day, I made myself familiar with Google Sky. Saw what “the W” was supposed to look like (it was a W, ha!) and planted myself on my porch after sunset to gaze at the stars. The first few, okay many several minutes, were futile. But as I was about to call it quits there, there it was – the W. Could it be? It was sideways. Yes! Yes! I see the five stars. Cassiopeia. Oh my goodness, I’ve identified my first constellation. Cassiopeia, the beautiful wife of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia. It was an overcast night but I wondered if I could catch any meteors that day. No such luck though I did see many a plane in the distance.
Tonight though is a different story. The sky is clear. The stars are bright. Cassiopeia made herself more visible to me. I even fancied her sitting there, sideways that is, hanging on for dear life. I could definitely pick out Perseus to her southeast and Cepheus to the north. And as I was orienting myself, what should flash across the sky but a falling star. And then another. I was as giddy as a child in a candy shop. Actually, make that me in the present moment in a candy shop!
Tonight is supposed to be the peak of the meteor shower. As many as 100 shooting stars per hour news articles report. Anytime between midnight and dawn. Could I stay up for this? Would I be able to function at work if I did? Oh, what gives?! So here it is 3 am. I’m such a glutton for punishment. I hope it’s a quiet day at work, seriously.
It is gorgeous. Although each shooting star makes me gasp I’m wanting to be showered upon. I know, I’m selfish. I want more, more, more! But honestly, after each falling star a calm falls over me. I feel that much closer to my universe. I’m falling in love (like I wasn’t already) with my Earth and my universe, people! We are so lucky to be alive you know.
Grandfather died today. He’s in a better place. And even though the Perseid’s were meant to be visible this month, this week, today, somehow it feels like its him sending a message. Yesterday, I was consulted on a man barely out of his teens who was recently diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis and a tumour burden so great that various attempts at palliative surgery and chemotherapy have failed. He’s not interested in hospice and I don’t blame him. Just the other day, he had his whole life ahead of him. Now he is dying and he knows it. It made me wonder. Why him? Why not I? Am I more special than he is? Does God love me more? No. I’m just lucky, lucky, lucky to be alive and healthy.
So grateful!
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