As you watch fireworks to welcome in the new year, I’ll be celebrating in Kapuna, probably with a bonfire. Fireworks capture our imagination, as beautiful lights against the night sky. I am saddened by people who watch them through their camera, trying to catch the beauty of transience for posterity and so missing out on the moment.
Some things are so beautiful that they are best enjoyed in the moment and cherished internally forever. They are not meant for photos or facebook, but are images and emotions for our soul to keep a record of. For me, these moments have often involved water, night time and lights.
The moon rising under the bow of a ship under full sail, the black silhouette of sails against the glowing red circle, punctuated with stars.
Dolphins riding the bow wave and trailing phosphorescence, giving credence to stories of mermaids.
A still, moonless, cloudless night when the horizon went missing and we drifted among the stars.
360⁰ of lightning storms strobing around us.
The first hint of dawn after a long night on watch.
The rising crescent moon like a fiery sail.
Meteor showers that trail across the sky.
The mystical curtain of Aurora Australis.
A thunderstorm across a bay, reflecting the glow of the setting sun and pouring rain down on a city.
The fireflies of Kapuna.
Twice now we have been out on the river to see the fireflies. They have favourite trees which they congregate on, a delicate and dancing ball of lights, more mystical than any human creation or imagination. Drifting, balancing, falling, rising, landing on us as tiny yellow lights. All human efforts at fairy lights in trees now seem crass.
Drifting on the river with friends, drinking milo, singing, laughing, sometimes talking, sometimes silent. The half moon reflecting off shiny palm branches, then hiding behind a cloud. The silhouette of a bat, like a mini pterodactyl. Venus setting and looking like an oncoming plane. Distant lightning forking across the sky. Orion appearing from the jungle in his eternal hunt of Taurus and Pleiades … and fireflies creating the most beautiful Christmas lights you’ll ever see.
The second time we went there was no moon and the night was still. Firefly covered trees could be seen glowing in the distance, perfectly reflected in the water, alongside their distant starry companions. Once again we enjoyed the company of friends and the treat of chocolate, then we drifted in silence, awed at the beauty of creation.
Happy New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment