Quote of the Day - 1/4/2012

Over our heads

Through the night

The stars descend,

Sacred threads of evening.

-        Marjorie Agosin in Rain in the Desert / Lluvia en el Desierto

~~~~~

There are so many nights in the cold of winter that are clear. I glance up at the sky as I am hurrying to the mailbox or into a store. Standing a while to just look is not comfortable.

Sometimes, though, the sky is so dark that a narrow rectangle of stars is visible through the skylight of my house and I’m always thrilled to see them in comfort while being frustrated that I cannot see more. It is a reminder of the vastness of this place in which our world rotates on its axis and around the sun…how much has been derived from observations of the stars that are the ‘sacred threads of evening.’

Do you think a higher percentage of the population were star watchers in ancient times than today? It seems that might be true because they were outdoors more than we are now and because they understood less. The world was a more frightening place to them because it was unexplained. Now our biggest fears are about things we ourselves have created. Star watching and seeking to know more about them seems so benign in comparison.