Recently there was a total eclipse that could be seen in the United States. The type of eclipse was where the moon was in front of the sun, creating darkness for a few minutes during the middle part of the day. I don’t watch a lot of news, but this seemed to be a big event for a lot of people. Even members of my family took time off of work to experience it. Personally, I wasn’t that interested in the event – I worked that day and even did boring things like go to the dentist. The weather where I was located was also pretty cloudy, so it would have been challenging to see it. However, I did watch some coverage on the news, and afterwards I was struck by a couple of things.
While I already noted that I wasn’t all that excited about the eclipse, what I really enjoyed seeing was all of the people who had come together to watch it. It was so great to see people sharing a common experience and having it be a peaceful thing. That is something you do not see on the news too often these days.
I also enjoyed the sense of wonder people had. I’m not sure why I didn’t have that feeling, but I could relate to what people were feeling. This was something bigger than all of us. It was also a reminder of the fragility of our own humanity. To paraphrase someone who was interviewed on TV, “How can you look at the eclipse and not think that God exists?” I totally agreed with that, because there are things that have moved me in that way – my son being born at the top of the list. My hope is that no matter what the eclipse was something positive and/or beautiful for you to reflect on.