Topic Tuesday #91 2014/04/15 "Bloodmoon"
In the wee hours of the morning, with the kids snuggled in bed and me done with whatever I was going to accomplish for the evening, I stepped out my front door and grabbed a chair. Looking up I saw a gorgeous full moon on a clear night. It was like walking into a twilight. I watched as the cool spring breeze kept all the mosquitos away. My faithful outdoor cat hopped into my lap to share the time with me. It was a very relaxing time. I felt marvelously small. Like all the world was just as small as I was and the concerns we have, smaller still. To marvel at the tricks of light that make this moment something special. How the diffraction of the Sun's rays through the atmosphere (the penumbra), the same that give us beautiful red sunsets, color the shadow of the Earth (the umbra) falling on the moon to a lovely rose or "blood" for the more dramatic. It was a great feeling to look on our nearest celestial neighbor (with Mars close by) enjoy the moment.
Today I learn that there are some wackadoos out there that are claiming it signals the end of the world. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/14/pastor-john-hagee-tuesdays-blood-moon-eclipse-signals-the-end-of-the-world/?onswipe_redirect=no
Really? Really? In typical fashion for the would be prophets and doomsayers, using a bit of science that they just fail to have any understanding of, to signal the apocalypse they crave so much. This may sound familiar... "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." That was, of course, Jesus foretelling the end of days. But... we are all still here and I would put every dollar I have ever earned that this series of lunar eclipses is not the harbinger of doom.
We are all going to be fine, and even better if we slow down and look up at the wonder of the universe we live in. Stop wishing for this short ride to be over... just enjoy it.
Next time, I'm taking the next day off though! I'm exhausted.
Thanks to Ryan Wilhelm for the use of his photo. Click the image to head over to his flicker page.