Shooting Star

A couple of nights ago I rose at 04:00 AM and set up a chair in the driveway to watch the Lyrid meteor shower. There several such events each year and when I happen to read about one it’s not unusual for me to find myself staring up at the sky at some odd hour of the night. I have a soft spot for (very) amateur astronomy and it’s a common occurrence for the late night dog walking neighbors to catch me just standing in the driveway and gazing up into space. The stars simply fascinate me. They always have. Even though I can only identify a handful of stars and constellations, they hold a certain explainable wonder that I’ve carried with me since childhood.

Which brings us back to the other night. It was supposed to be the best of several nights of viewing the Lyrid meteor shower and the popular websites promised as many as 10-15 shooting starts per hour at its peak. So there I was, bundled up and sitting forlornly in the driveway … probably looking like my wife had kicked me out of the house. But I was there on purpose. However, the promised celestial show just wasn’t happening and after an hour or so of shivering in the dark I was just about to close up shop and hit the shower. But suddenly I was rewarded with an awesome shooting start that was both bright and right where I was looking. And here’s the thing, I was completely satisfied. So often in life I feel like people want to be wowed by abundance. They want to be grandly entertained, and then stack their stack their piles of memories like so much firewood stacked on the side of the house. But the sky isn’t like that. The sky is big and beautiful and miraculous, but pretty slow from the standpoint of pleasing a pleasure seeking crowd.

So much of life is like that as well. It’s less like an action movie and more like the night sky. If you expect to be constantly entertained you find yourself just feeling bored or disappointed. Yet, if you understand that life is beautiful and amazing all time, punctuated by occasional moments of perfection, then you’re much better oriented to fully enjoy the show. That’s just how I felt a few nights ago when I was finally rewarded with that single perfect shooting star. And it was enough.

One Perfect Shooting Star

I rose in the dark of the morning

Donned my coat and hat and gloves

Dragged a camp chair out to the driveway

And directed my eyes above

I was up for the meteor shower

Of which I had read about

Wrapped in a blanket against the cold

Of a night with no moon out

I was welcomed by a starry sky

And as I waited patiently

A pair of satellites came and went

But shooting stars eluded me

Then, just as I was giving up

A single blaze filled the sky

And the shooting star I’d waited for

Greeting my wondering eyes

I had hoped for more last night

Yet, as I pondered upon

That fleeting moment of perfecting

Which had so quickly come and gone

I realized I found joy enough

In the wonder that was mine

At observing stardust set afire

For even so brief a time

For who indeed could ask for more

As we gaze at the heavens afar

Than to start their day

With the priceless gift

Of a single perfect shooting star

              By Frank Carpenter ©