Starry, Starry Night

As painters go, our Vincent had his lighter and his darker sides; he was a little out there, he had a fine eye, but one of the most appealing things about him is the fact that he went out again and again, stared and meditated on starry, starry nights, and tried to capture the essence of that magnificence on canvas.

There is something charming about being able to be in the moment enough, to experience and fill yourself up with it so much, that you can then let the experience spill over and become art; and even without the art, there is something very particularly glorious about being present enough to suck in the experience until it fills you to overflowing.

Here in the high desert, the starry nights are stunning and they make you wonder - just how many people even have the opportunity to see nights like this, and, even more, how many take advantage of that opportunity. Now it's getting dark earlier, at dinner time, it's black outside (and in the desert, it's really black). Every time you go out - to take the trash out, to let the dog out, to say hi to a neighbor, that stunning magnificence is right there in front of your eyes offering you the opportunity to fall raight into the vastness.

And yet - and yet - we are always so BUSY - it's hard to even remember to look up at the sky sometimes. And then - if we do, we are often so filled with pre-conceptions, a version of truth that is based on previous experience, that we aren't really experiencing it at all. Our minds are busy with thoughts, ideas, chore lists, a million other details and we can't even take in the spectacular beauty of what is around us.

Starry, starry nights are a reminder of the vast beauty of life, intangible, untouchable, but imminently drinkable - if only we are willing to stop the incessant flow of re-directing thoughts, and to swallow the experience. Starry nights remind us that Infinity is worthy of our attention, and that absorbing beauty is as much a vital part of our existence as eating and drinking. Starry, starry nights are a reminder to be willing to sometimes stop the thoughts and merely allow yourself to be absorbed in the vibration of the cosmos.

Thank you for the starry nights that remind us to be willing to be in the moment, and revel in the awe-inspiring beauty of it.

Blessings.
- Darshan

© 2008 Darshan F Jessop