Lunar Eclipse ~ April 2014

©2014 Mary-Lynne Monroe

Last night over most of North and Central America, there shone an incredible Lunar Eclipse. I stayed up late to take some pictures ~ this is one of my favorites. I watched enraptured as the shadow crept across the face of the explosively bright full moon. 

Why stay up until past midnight, on a work night, to take pictures of this? I mean, it happens, right? There will be pictures on the internet, right? NASA and several observatories certainly posted some... NASA, in conjunction with the Marshall Space Flight Center, posted a live Ustream feed ~ in real time and the comfort of home. Remarkable to see!

Yet.... yet.... What I wanted, what called to me, what left me awestruck, was looking at the event itself in the night sky. I was the only one on my street for most of the time. As the full shadow slipped into place revealing the red glow Blood Moon, I heard doors creak open and saw a couple across the street come out of their house to look at the sky, then turn around and return indoors. The creaks of other doors happened again. I assume the neighbors who had come outside were all heading back in and into the comfort of their living rooms and beds. I was left alone again, with my camera, standing on my front porch, mouth agape in wonder.

As I write this I wonder who is the real lunatic? Me, the moon worshipper? or those who do not grasp the magnificence and wonder of our universe.

Where were you during the eclipse? What in our world, life or universe awes you the most?

Playing Small, part 2

"There is no passion to be found in playing small ~ in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."

~ Nelson Mandela

There's been some craziness going on in the ethers lately. At least that's what I've read. All I know is that I seem to have more physical energy than I have in the past; none of which is directing itself to writing or blogging. Yet... yet... when I sit down to write, words flow in a manner I love to experience. It's as though my system resonates with something greater than me.

When I think of that, when those moments of awake show up in my being, I recognize a much deeper truth regarding the concept of playing small. Nelson Mandela's quote sums it up quite nicely: there is no passion in it. We move forward without thinking, without being awake or aware, without feeling passion. Not that we aren't busy or chock full of emotions. Only that the passion, the zeal for life, isn't at the core of what we're doing. Days go by as though they are meant to be simple. One day we awaken to the thought that we've missed actually living a huge chunk of our lives.

I have friends who live their lives in the fast lane with lots of things happening: travel to exotic places, writing books or plays, making money hand over fist ~ or a variety of other things. Sometimes realizing their dreams, sometimes not. I find myself wondering if the fulfillment of our personal dreams is what we are intended to do. If so, what happens to those of us, those around us, who do not do this? Does that mean we are living small?

What does living small mean to you? Why?

Saturn's Moons ~ Mimas & Pandora

Saturn moons Mimas & Pandora taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

What a spectacle: Images of the moons of Saturn as well as its rings! How distant this truly is ~ approximately 830.1 million miles! ~ yet how immediate and intimate it appears.

Mimas, the larger of the two and having a visible crater on its right side, was first seen in 1789 by William Herschel. Over 200 years ago, this moon was 'discovered' with a 40-foot telescope. Today, this image comes to us across the span of space from an unmanned craft. More of those enchanting distinctions.

As I reflect on this, I am thoroughly fascinated by the span and intimacy of All That Is. Looking at this image strikes me dumb with awe. Love. Fascination. Awe. Hope. Power. Spaciousness. Vast. Spectacular. So many words flow through my mind. None of them enough. What do you think?

A Hole in the Crown of the Sun

From the NASA website: Coronal holes are dark, low density regions of the sun's outermost atmosphere containing little solar material and having lower temperatures. A typical feature on the sun, they are important to our understanding of space weather.

Looking at this image, taken on July 18th, I 'see' one of the 12-pound bowling balls from our local bowling alley ~ except this image has a halo around it! Even though it's labeled a 'hole', that dark spot on the north pole of the sun only emphasizes the intensity and beauty of our star. There are bright spots visible ~ solar flares, maybe? ~ and an overall sheen giving it another dimension of wonder. Surrounding the sun is the inky blackness of space ~ certainly different from the view of the sun from my perspective on earth!

The coronal hole ~ a hole in the crown or the aura surrounding the sun ~ what a concept! The north pole of the sun equates to where the crown of our heads would be. This hole makes me wonder: What kind of 'thought' goes through the 'mind' of the sun? How heavy is the thinking and imagining of our star? I perceive this hole as the sun opening itself to us, seeking to communicate beyond the glow. I hope we can hear what it says!

Look at this image for 30-90 seconds without distraction What do you see? What do you feel or experience as you look at it? What do your other senses tell you? Are there any words that come into your mind?

The Day the Earth Smiled ~~ View from Saturn

On July 19, 2013, the wide-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured Saturn's rings with Earth and its moon in the same frame. Earth, which is 898 million miles (1.44 billion kilometers) away in this image, appears as a blue dot at the center right; the moon is a fainter protrusion off its right side. The other bright dots nearby are stars. Of 323 images, this is the only one that has the Earth-moon system in it.

Imagine that! This is the stuff science fiction stories are made of! Look at that image ~ and the arrow pointing to the itty bitty dot that is us. We look around our world and perceive ourselves as big and important. We create wars to prove who can be more impressive. In the vastness of the Universe, just how much do we matter?

Yet on this little dot of a planet, all our strutting and showmanship matters because this little dot is where we live and have our being. What emotions are stirred up by this image? Moving forward from today, what will you do differently because of them?