While we were living in the country (a few weeks ago) one of the great pleasures was to go out at night and look at the sky. The Milky Way is awesome! Looking up we see a river of light which runs across the sky.
A friend of mine, Ulric Steiner, sailed across the world in a boat he’d built himself. One of the things he talks about is how the Milky Way was so bright he could read by it. We didn’t experience it quite like that but looking into this stream of lights and realising that you’re looking into our galaxy and then turning to another part of the sky where there are very few stars and knowing you’re looking out into intergalactic space always fills me with awe and wonder. It’s almost like standing on a street corner and knowing where you are because you recognise the streets. Except here it’s sensing your place in the Universe.
Moving back into the ‘burbs’ this is one of the things I really miss. However, all is not lost.
The city can have a feeling of fairyland when you see the lights especially when you’re in the suburban areas and so get lots and lots of little ones.
We’ve moved to North Ryde and are very close to the corner of Lane Cove & Epping Roads. These are MAJOR thoroughfares being 6 lanes each.
Now that daylight saving has finished (yay!!! whoopee!!! at last!!! oops – sorry, you’re probably one of those crazy people who actually like it… Oh, now where was I?)… it’s quite dark when it’s peak hour.
Peak hour around here is a bit like being in the middle of a HUMONGOUS car park – traffic does move but oh so slowly. While I sympathise with those people sitting in their steel and glass boxes trying to get somewhere significant (which is probably anywhere except where they are) the site of a river of lights reminds me a little of my Milky Way experience (and we’re not talking chocolate bars).
Looking along the road, on one side is a river of red lights with a corresponding stream of white lights on the other side. Every so often there’s a single light dodging in and out between the others (the motorbikes) reminding me of shooting stars.There’s even the flashing white lights like hyperactive glow worms which are people on pushbikes who, for some strange reason, always seem to be MAMILs (Middle Aged men In Lycra).
No, I haven’t been smoking, drinking or otherwise ingesting mind altering substances (even though if you’ve read this far you may be forgiven for thinking I have).
One of the things I’ve learned from house-sitting is being adaptable, grateful and finding joy and pleasure in whatever situation you’re in. This is one of those!
Just to finish up – here’s us from out there. Pretty isn’t it?