The Wonder of the Moment

It's wonderful, majestic, and truly inspiring. The sun eclipsed by the shadow of the moon is just one of those creations and phenomena we might never really get enough of.

Today, at five in the morning, I was practically racing the first rays of light from the sun. I got to the only place I could think of that wasn't obstructed by buildings. The small patch of land near Ayala, where people jog in the morning, seemed to be the best and nearest option. So I took off for that spot.

Upon my first ocular inspection, it was apparent that I may not see any sun at all. There was a huge wall of cumulunimbus clouds right in front of where I knew the sun was. It was depressing. The light started spreading in the sky and the many joggers were starting to throw weird looks at the girl wearing a jacket, jeans, and carrying a roll of film in her hand. I walked as slowly as I could, hoping the clouds would somehow blow away when I finally found the perfect place to stand rooted in the cement. One of the people there, a man riding his bike told me I should jog. I said I didn't plan on that today because I was waiting for the sun to come out. He said it would be impossible to see the eclipse from where we are. I was almost tempted to believe him.

I guess this is when I thought of perseverance. You see, I really wanted to see the solar eclipse. The last time I had the chance to see one was way back when I couldn't remember what was happening. It's not like I would die if I didn't see it but the opportunity was to great to miss. So I kept standing there, in the middle of the sidewalk facing the huge wall of cloud.

At about six, there was a rather bright ray shining out of the edge of the cloud. I thought it would be such a waste mot to use the sventy-nine-peso roll of film I bought just for this purpose, so I looked through it to the light and my breath was taken away.

What we normally would think as just one round sun was,to me, a half moon cookie. I was just in time to see the eclipse in its last half of travel. Yey! It was beautiful, like Pacman eating the clouds.

I mean, sure people there might have thought I was weird but I really didn't care. If they would only ask what I was doing, I would have gladly let them see through my insufficient solar filter. Then they would have experienced something that most people would take for granted.

It's sad, really. We're all running through life trying to achieve great things that we miss the great things that are there for us to see for free. Everyone's going through life in fast forward that slowing down to look up at the sky seem to be a useless waste of time. When that man told me yo rub, I wanted to tell him that there's also a beauty in just walking or standing around for that matter. I stood there in one spot and just stared into the sky and I felt the beauty and peace and rest that I would have traded for a few more hours in bed. I stood there wanting to tell the world to just stop and look up. Oh, the things they were missing just because they were trying to fit everything in. What we don't understand about life is that when we try to do everything, we end up doing nothing. Or worse, we end up achieving things that don't really mean anything in the long run.

So I watched as the moon's shadow slowly made its way through the sun and the normal circular appearance we draw of the sun came back. And throughout the hour and a half that I stood there, only one person asked me if it was the eclipse and I was happy, like a kid who just saw fireworks.

It's nice to have this opportunity to witness something that doesn't usually happen. It's wonderful to witness something that beautiful and have the decency to thank the Creator for keeping us alive, for letting us have a glimpse of His glory.

To the next eclipse or astronomical event, I shall be waiting for you. In the meantime, off to work I go. Have a great day everyone.