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Eclipse and Interdependent Awe
So, I was taken by surprise by the eclipse. I wasn’t surprised it was happening of course. So many people were talking about it! It was a source of constant conversation. But I was surprised how awestruck I was by the event.
Even without looking directly at the eclipse (as I had no eclipse glasses), it was fascinating to notice how everything around me looked the same, yet different in a way that was hard to describe. In one way, it looked like a normal sunny day, but in another, the light kept decreasing and dimming.
What increased my awe was contemplating on the series of effects that had to come together for the eclipse to happen. After all, there are so few times that the orbital paths of the moon and the earth come together in the correct placement to make an eclipse possible. But I realized part of what made this event seem so awe-inspiring to me is that I could more simply see and grasp the interdependent events that had to come together to make the eclipse happen. It’s just two orbital paths interacting in a predictable, though uncommon, way. Predictable enough that scientists can…well, predict it in advance! I wonder if the predictability and simplicity made it easier for me to appreciate because it was easier to contemplate the interdependent steps to make the event occur.
What becomes even more awe inspiring though, is realizing how interdependent everything is around us. Every natural event is a product of many smaller aspects coming together over time. (And truly, the eclipse is not so simple! What were the exact minute details that had to come together to create the Earth and the moon? What small factors caused their orbits to be what they are?)
In coming together as community, we also have awe-inspiring events. For instance, what are the small events that lead to your friendship with someone else? What events had to come together for you to relate to and care for this person you are in relationship with? You could consider events that caused you to meet, events from the time you both were born, or even events that led to their birth. Any and all of these might be important!
From the awe created by a rare event, it was finding the awe that comes in appreciating the interdependence all around us, every day.
In gratitude for all that is helping to uncover beauty around us, all of the time.
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