It occurred to me that I speak a lot about the sky and my love for it when a friend sent me a text to look out my window on a full moon night. I've noticed that not everyone shares the same deep appreciation for the moon and stars as I do, and that's completely okay. Although, I've always hoped that more people would take a moment to see the beauty in the sky, especially at night.
I look at the sky often enough to call it a ritual because I absolutely love stargazing and at the end of the month(or beginning), I love moon gazing. One of the most shocking conversations I had recently bordered around the moon. I was surprised to hear a friend say that he in fact didn't know which time of the year a full moon usually appeared. The disbelief on his face when I said we get full moons monthly only proved that he wasn't lying when he made his initial statement. Of course this conversation only ended when I gave the friend a handful of information and fun facts I gathered from years of star and moon gazing.
Like the fact that we can differentiate stars from satellites by looking out for twinkles and movement. While stars tend to twinkle and remain fixed in the same position, satellites (which look awfully similar to stars) tend to steadily move across the sky sans the twinkle.
Or the fact that it takes the moon about 27 days to orbit the earth. This is a reason why it seems like a full moon always appears between the last few days in a month or the first few days of a new month.
Another knowledge I gained a few years back is that a full moon occurs only when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun and sometimes, we get supermoons.
This ritual, cultivated over many years, stems from a profound appreciation for nature. Taking a few minutes to gaze at the sky, whether from my bedroom window or reclining in the trunk of my mom's cargo bed, serves as a form of meditation. In these quiet moments, time appears to move slower and everything seems.. fine.
I can talk at length about my sky gazing habits, but today is not the day for that. However, one thing I can say for sure is that nature is truly beautiful. Taking time to stop and appreciate whatever part of nature I can see (sky, clouds, flowers, name it) makes me feel better and lighter, like I've gained a fresh burst of energy. Besides that, these moments help me clear my mind and sharpen my focus. Spending time with nature helps me feel more balanced and refreshed, especially when life gets too busy.
This post is in response to the #iucontest prompt for this week which can be found here. Do well to talk about some of the rituals /traditions you hold dear.
Images belong to me, except stated otherwise.