Better in the Dark

My mother’s favourite story of when I was young was when she gave me the task of watching the chips. Watching chips boil in oil, watching paint dry, watching grass grow – yeah I will do that. In the meantime watching the stars is also exciting – so while the chip sizzled I ducked off the look at the stars from the backyard toilet roof. I could pick out favourite stars and planets and work out where the south celestial pole was. “Keeerrriiieee” …ummmm ooops. Dark acrid smoke filled the kitchen. No chips for tea. Open every window. Repaint the kitchen. I still don’t see the fuss. The sky was so interesting.

The night sky is so different in the northern hemisphere. It is yet another thing I am really looking forward to. The stars are new and weird. The celestial orb not right, empty in places that should be full. No north celestial pole to be drawn – they have a star - the idiot’s guide to north. We desire a greater challenge here down under.

The planets Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter aligned today on Friday 13 May 2011. Spectacular to see from the deck at Montclare. The telescope made it even better. Jupiter still could be seen at 8 o’clock although it looked like a big shiny plane. The planets are still there doing their aligning thing but you cannot see it now in the full light of day.

Troubles and dramas in our lives, heartache and illness are not fun. Not fun for the heart, mind or soul. While going through such suffering some things magnify. Love and family, beliefs and fears (softened, fuzzy, hallmarked when drowned out by those precious daytime living things) firm and petrify. Time passes and the scars become lighter but suffering continues. Lost lives, lost opportunities, lost minds, anniversaries of good and bad. 

We carry on under the sunny sky unaware. Closing eyes against the pain, unseeing the alignment. One thing is sure with the stars and who you really are – both are seen more clearly in the dark.

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