Category Archives: Observing Changes

21 Solstice

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photo-3 Cairn Garden @ Narragansett

 

Welcome to the year’s shortest night and longest day. Rhode Island kids celebrate today’s Summer Solstice as their last day of school and the first day of summer. The sun is up, the sky is blue. Yes, dear Prudence, it’s beautiful.

The Druids erected a megalithic monument to the sun, Stonehenge, as a sacred center for healing. Recent visits to a dermatologist present a challenge for visualizing the sun as a healer. It’s almost impossible to imagine our brilliant celestial body as an evil spirit who entices cells to unceasingly divide, multiply and invade.

Settling into the Sea

The Roman’s accused the Druids of human sacrifices to the sun. The belief that humans must give life to protect life is a conundrum for healers.  Then again, as people  altered the earth and compromised her protective sky  we find ourselves more and more under the power of the sun. It’s only recently that sunbathing was condemned as a death wish. But we are human, after all, so we don’t have to sacrifice being out in the sunshine. As with random sex, we just have to wear protection.

Nick Copernicus ignited a revolution when he proposed that the sun is the center of the known universe. Copernicus’ heliocentric theory of astronomy is simple; the sun rules. Copernicus, like DaVinci, was a classic case of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. He enrolled at a university in Poland where he became fascinated by math but dropped out like Bill and Mark did before altering the world. He changed his major to religion and quickly moved up the cross to a position just below a bishop’s toe. Later he enrolled at another university to study canon law. He was distracted from his ecclesiastical studies by a theory that man not God rules the universe. With this in mind, Nicholas went to medical school. What better way is there to know the inner workings of a god?

Image A siren call for Mermaids?

Long nights of study gave the scholar time to probe the skies and ponder the mysteries of God and the universe. Copernicus’ thoughts were illuminated by the moon, stars, and candles as he tried to figure out the scientific and divine order that rules the universe. Rather than squint through a telescope mathematics were his vehicle for  exploration. As with Einstein half a millennium later, the numbers created a tapestry of brilliant insights. Copernicus understood that neither Earth nor man was the center of the universe. The cleric, physician, mathematician cum astronomer proclaimed that the sun was at the very heart of the world. Earth, he summarized was only the center of gravity and center of the moon’s orbit, but like Earth, it too circles the sun. Copernicus concluded that the circles go far beyond our ability to imagine such a vast expanse of space.

Many a time it is the warmth of the sun enveloping our bodies that illuminates our spirits and brings forth great thanks for the joy of living. We are all planetary bodies that orbit the sun. Each of us has a relative sense of gravity for little moons to circle around us throughout our lifetime. We’ve all been able to endure great grief and serious illnesses during long dark nights because of the most reliable fact known on earth, the sun will rise in the morning even if you are not there to welcome the day.

Today Druids greeted the summer solstice sun at Stonehenge. They still hold to a tradition that as stewards of the earth we are charged to love the land, sea, and sky. From here on the beloved shore of the Narrow River, I send love to all the moons who circle my life and make it bright – you are my sunshine.

Tidelines

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When two ocean currents converge, driftwood, floating seaweed, and other flotsam tend to accumulate and create a long serpentine tideline. Lots of different things can cause currents to mate. Sometimes one body of water, like the brackish flow from our Narrow River, sinks beneath or rides over the surface of Narragansett Bay. Sometimes the wind currents play matchmaker as they take command and blend two diverse streams. When this occurs tidelines are formed by internal waves that oscillate in deeper water rather than on the surface. Sometimes the water just gets caught up with itself – swirling and whirling until it flows backwards.

ImageTidelines aren’t about tides. They are noticeable when boaters and surfers come across a line of junk that’s been cast off by nature and humans. We encounter metaphysical tidelines when summer days converge with workweeks. The former promise relaxation and the later are constrained by tight schedules. The line between the two is composed of whatever gets scuttled. Personal tidelines are created when our mind and body are blended and each gives up what it least needs to surf deep and surface waves of contentment.

Some people avoid crossing ocean tidelines because they look offensive. Ditching the debris that weighs heavy on our spirits is what summer is all about. Letting go of personal flotsam and jetsam makes summer days all the more enjoyable. Tidelines are temporary. During their brief existence they relieve two currents of stuff neither needs.

The lesson from the sea is that in order to optimize summer days, vacations, and holidays, let go of the emotional baggage, extra items on the Do List, and resistance to the natural flow of our lifestyle. At the same time, avoid cramming leisure time with unrealistic expectations and few opportunities to go quietly and deeply into your mindbody. Our work and play personas need a certain lightness of being so that we can go with the flow and take deep pleasure in waves of contentment.  That’s at least one good reason to love summer.

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Super Moon

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Supermoon

Flower Moon

Observing any thing changes the thing and the observer.

            The Flower Moon that is illuminating the Memorial Day weekend skies is known as a supermoon. These full moons occur when the moon is closest to Earth in a given orbit.  Despite lots of lore, super moons don’t look any different from the rest of the full moons that grace the night sky. But, gazing at a moon changes the observer and the moon itself. That’s quantum physics in a nutshell.

I grew up in an America that was defined and shaped by war. I am a baby boomer. My Uncle Francis was in the Navy during World War II. During the final days of war in the Pacific Theatre, his plane was shot down near the island Formosa, ironically named for it’s beauty. Today it’s known as Taiwan, the Republic of China, or that island state over in East Asia. My grandparents referred to this holiday weekend as Decoration Day, a special time to place flowers on the graves of heroes. It was a time to remember and savor memories of their brave, young son. Grandpa would tell me stories about Uncle Francis that always ended with, “Sometimes, I still think I’ll see him walking towards me on the driveway. Yep, he was a pretty good boy.”

Those were the 50’s, when June Cleaver defined motherhood. When the 60’s rolled through, the music changed from Perry Como’s “When the moon hit’s your eye, like a big a pizza pie, that’s Amore” to Clearwater Revival’s, “I see a bad moon a rising.” In retrospect, we were a rebellious generation who yearned for a peace we had never really known. Instead of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, we belted out, “Well it’s one, two three, what are we fighting for? I don’t give a damn, last stop is Viet Nam.” We confused hating war with disrespecting warriors.

Last week, Shawn and I were sharing Clara’s first snickerdoodle at a small cookie shop on old Main Street. A gentle man who looked to have passed his seventh decade, wearing a blue military cap came in to buy a cookie with his wife. He was delighted with Clara’s enthusiasm for making many crumbs. He said he was a proud grandpa too. Shawn stood, extended her hand to him and said, “Thank you Sir, for your service to our country.” He tipped the bill of his cap, and nodded sadly, “If only people had thought that when I returned from the war.” Viet Nam was clearly emblazoned on the cap.

The Flower Moon, close enough to inspect the rugged terrain yet too far to ever touch, is a supermoon. It gave me a clear insight about Decoration Day.  My sons and daughter who were not called to serve their country, like me, and my parents and theirs, grew up in the company of heroes. Some who survived their service, blend in with the crowds, their uniforms are stored out of sight. Others who are serving stand out with their distinctive uniforms designed to blend with battle-scarred jungles, cities, and deserts.

Cat Stevens had it right. We are all “being chased by a moon shadow.” Contemplating the May 2013 full moon motivated me to learn more. To my surprise, I learned about super moons and super heroes. The Flower Moon will never be the same to me. My observation of the fifth full moon of this calendar year changed me too. My generation was not only defined by war, it was shaped by the souls of heroes. It took some of us a heck of a long time to figure that out. Baby Boomers may remember their days as Flower Children. Americans may be chased by moon shadows, but their colors will never run.

"Did it take long to find me? Moon Shadow, Moon Shadow." Cat Stevens

“Did it take long to find me?
Moon Shadow, Moon Shadow.” Cat Stevens