Occasionally the small wood fire crackled. One by one the stars began to wink. The top of the mountains caught the last diffused light, but darkness soon enveloped them as well. Above them the heavens awoke – an innumerable host lit the skies.
The only light on earth was distant and dim – a farmhouse in the valley. Then I heard it. It startled me at first, so I listened more intently … nothing. No cars, no planes, no machines, no voices. My senses have to reset. My ears have to remember what a faint choir of insects sounds like. My eyes have to learn once again to see the stars.
I looked up once again and as the skies overawed me I began to remember … not something I experienced, but a deeper, inherited memory. I sensed my connection to the generations upon generations before me. Age after age, the people who brought me forth stood beneath these very same skies and sensed the same majesty that is flooding over me.
My gaze narrowed and a poem was born.
I see you
although you see me not.
Your light has travelled
a hundred million years
to meet my eyes this evening
and delight me with your shining.
But you have no knowledge of your splendor,
no awareness even of your own existence.
Oh what wonder, what mysterious gift,
that in me your beauty can be acknowledged;
in me your existence is greeted
and gratefully recognized.
What bliss to be conscious;
to be aware of a beauty
that cannot appreciate itself.
My gaze is suddenly distracted …
as she comes around the corner.
I see you,
and you see me.
Two mysteries of awareness
intertwined in mutual bliss.
Your beauty I acknowledge
so that you may see it too.
The same wonder displayed in the heavens
in human flesh condensed.
Here the mystery awakens
existence finds itself reflected
the universe becomes conscious.
beautiful love poem! Acknowledging the universal beauty as well as the human one.
Thank you. That was wonderful! My family and I used to sleep outside when I was a child under the stars in the mountains of Colorado. We learned to used a rock so that we could still be comfortable. My dad would get up and make breakfast and I remember the smell of the campfire. What a delight I haven’t gotten to experience in many, many years. I loved the beauty of your poem to help us all remember from when ce we came and to remember the ones we love. Thank you, Karen
So love how these experiences connect us. We enjoyed a few trips to Colorado and wow, it is so rich in natural beauty.
So beautiful as I am focusing on creation this week in my meditations. This thought from a Celtic contemplative writer was shared. The opposite of despair is not hope but the mystery of wonder—that in the midst of darkness is light & love. My spirit rejoices in the ongoing revelation of our oneness & connection.
Thanks so much for this poetic expression of reflection !
Thanks,
Your poem was so beautiful to read. How often we are in constant distraction, mentality, physically, and spirituality. To pause and become mindful of the moment, the now of life, what is unfolding before us. To feel the connection and at the same time allow the mystery to flow through us is a divine thing.
I needed to be reminded of this and so much more…
Awesome. Creation surely is waiting for the manifestation of sons of God
Beautiful.
Life is love and love is beauty…simply remember. You did that…reminded me to live in the moment in love with beauty
This wonderful word picture took me to an experience similar; that l have had so often sitting by a fire at night. Looking into the fire l have felt myself drawn into a realm of light, warmth, life; for fire truly is a living breathing thing, but even more significant the thousands of years of others like me, gaze all that is needed to be connected to this flow of light and life. Overwhelmed by the fellowship shared through the eyes of humanity found through my eyes as well. I am at home by the fire.
Chuck, I hope I can share an evening around the fire with you soon. Planning to be in NY towards the end of July
Abraham was invited to fix his gaze upon the ‘mysterious’ pictures painted by the stars before he believed,and the LORD declared him righteous. Wow! He had heard that all the families of the earth would be blessed in him. Before the invitation, he could only see and say, “Look, You have given me no offspring….” Then it seemed he saw “so shall your descendants (Seed) be.” The apostle Paul writes: “…….that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery…..” Did God not only first preach to Abraham, but show him that mystery through the stars?
I am thankful for the Lord’s provision of a seat at His feet to hear Him through your archived video and articles. Thanks Andre.
Aaaah…breathing this in! This awareness is going to be hitting a new level for me this May when I leave the city life here and venture to SA!
Romans 8:19. What if the stars and the wonders of this earth that capture our attention and draw us into places of deeper understanding and revelation are actually more aware of who we are than we are ourselves. What if the stars are aware of their impact on us and delight in their role. In Genesis we hear of the earth crying out to God at the spilling of the innocent blood of Abel. Might this suggest that the soil itself has an awareness of morality? We hear of an ass that is more aware of the presence of the divine than a prophet who hears the voice of God occasionally. Creation itself has been living the life of Christ long before man was made aware of such a pattern;birth death, resurrection. Jesus himself uses this “natural” rhythm in several parables to harbinger his own coming death and its ultimate purpose. The lost connection to God, the step outside the unity of all creation and Creator by man has impacted everything. Creation has been waiting with great anticipation for the revelation of the sons of God. Those countless stars that enthrall us with their beauty are actually saying to us ” You think we are awesome; you should see what we see when we look at you!!”
All I can say is wow. What a beautiful day, poem and site. I’m definitely ready to start living.