45 – Stars *

Special thanks to Steve for providing the photos. Steve is a long-time friend, a non-blogger, and in the USA – but anyone can view his portfolio at LightWaves Images or on Instagram. Feel free to comment on his images here. Steve’s work is copyrighted by Steven L Ancik.

Click the video above for 2 minutes of background waves while reading.

Last night provided a clear sky, so I admired the stars that I could see. I wish I could have seen more, but the area lights limit their display. At least what I saw sparks my thoughts for today.

There’s delight in staring at stars. We talk to them about our dreams and thoughts about the mysteries of the unknown world. As we watch them dazzle, flash, flicker, gleam, glitter, glow, shimmer, shine, sparkle, and twinkle in the night sky, stars seem to be the heartbeat of the universe.

Staring across the water while thinking about stars reminds me of the explorers of many years ago during an age without satellites and electronics – a time when the position of stars guided the way. Today, explorers as the Hubble Telescope and various probes enhance our knowledge of the stars and deep space.

Stars have been important to people for a very long time – maybe even forever. Because of their sparkle, we think of stars as precious gems. To the Ancient World, stars were lights anchored on a mythical dome covering our planetary home.

Besides orientation and navigation, stars served as a foundation for cultural stories, beliefs, customs, religious practices, and calendars. We recognize our birth as one designated by the stars of the Zodiac. After all, who hasn’t wondered, “What do the stars say?” when searching for their horoscope. I’m Aquarius. What’s your sign?

I think about how humans arrange stars into pictorial constellations – some of which we still recognize today while others didn’t survive the test of time. From the dippers to the bull, twins, sisters, the hunter, and more, I yearn to see something that I do not normally see; such as the Southern Cross – but those who see the Southern Cross want to see the North Star. But no matter where we are, stars make us wonder about life elsewhere or being galactic travelers.

Twinkle, twinkle little star makes our mind wander to wonder with thoughts about someone close. Twinkles serve as whispers as if they were messages from a dear friend who is far away, a loved one who has passed, a person we long for, or someone in a distant memory.

Mystical, magical, and imaginative, stars inspire authors, painters, songwriters, and dreams for poems, stories, paintings, and music filled with imagery and metaphors. Stars are glittering gems serving as signs of wisdom, glimmers of hope, and twinkles in a lover’s eyes. We relate stars to birth, death, love, and dreams. Isn’t it interesting that we vision them as five-pointed twinkles of silver, yet we color them yellow or gold?

To us, stars appear to begin congregating as nightfall’s curtain of darkness descends upon us, but they are also present in the bright light of day just behind the sky’s blue veil. Stars are magnetic to our eyes and seemingly waiting for our commands,

Stars – slowly appearing during the transformation of dusk to night – seemingly moving across the night sky as we turn – then slowly disappearing during dawn’s transition to daylight. On a clear night in the envelope of darkness, stars fill the sky – so many seemingly touching – but the distance between them is unimaginable to us.

The stars seem more infinite than the water to the horizon that one never reaches. Stars in trillions of galaxies – each galaxy with billions of stars. Simply, so many stars that our mind has a difficult time grasping that number. I wonder which is higher: the number of stars in the universe or the number of grains of sand on Earth?

To us, stars seem soft, gentle, and tame – yet we forget most are burning balls of fire that are far, far away. Fiery orbs of beauty fueled by nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms, stars seem inaccessible and inexhaustible – but they aren’t because they too have a life cycle.

I’ve never seen the Milky Way – but hope to someday. Seeing it requires deep darkness – a darkness away from the many of humanity and without a moon – a time in the deep dark that will slow us down to marvel at the lights of the universe shining. I imagine that moment consuming me with awe and wonder. Someday. Hopefully someday.

Stars – the lights of night that are symbols of hope, truth, and goodness. I’m sure there is much more to say about them, but thinking about stars has been good for my day. After all, walking on the beach is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about stars

• Stars (poem)
• Counting Stars (poem)
• Stars (poem)
• To the Stars (poem)
• Space Dancers (poem by a visitor here)
• Comet Neowise: Images from the North Cascades (photos)

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