Stargazing

There is nothing more beautiful than a clear night sky and it is a rare thing to find shooting stars seen gliding across the sky. Back then when I was in school, I use to squat just outside my home under the stars in eager anticipation of the night's sky show. But now, hardly finding out time for it. The risks of darkness never frightened me but instead challenged my imagination even more. Night's gifts are out of the ordinary, ec-static and always unexpected.

Once a stranger to me, Orion used to be merely another bunch of unknown stars to my naked eyes. I still remember very well, my brother and I went for an evening walk, the night was crisp but too cold with a canopy of stars visible despite the city lights, where I turned to see a bright balls of fire hanging above us like lantern bursting with mirth and spilling its dazzling light. With a finger he pointed out to three prominent stars in the sky that seemed to fall on a line of their own. He then introduced to me the kind 'Sir Orion' who soon turned out to be the first constellation I learned. A belt and a sword tucked in its quiver and was this man, a brave and mighty hunter with two loyal canines, the lesser dog and the greater dog at his heels. His dogs follow his lead as he seemed to be so enamored by this group of beauteous nymphs, the seven sisters of the Pleiades who happened to be guarded by the bull, causing him to be on a state of perpetual journeying, chasing them endlessly across the sky.

And so I fell in love with this handsome stranger, born out of the skies and born from the stars. I don't see how one can be so numb to the beauty of space and the glory of the heavens and continue to live, if only one were half alive?

When you see a falling star, they say the only real good wish to make at that point (knowing that it is actually a meteor) is to wish for it to NOT fall on where you are standing! But not to worry, most of them really just burn out in the earth's atmosphere and some just pass by without hitting any of us. With all the hurtful things in life, all the everyday cares and worries, unmet goals, broken promises and lost hopes. I think I know just the perfect wish!