bookmark_borderLunar Lessons in Time

Image courtesy: mnn.com
Image courtesy: mnn.com

The healing and rejuvinating process of sleep had been evading me this past week, possibly a cosmic side-effect of an ever growing moon. The night prior to the full moon, sleep finally descended upon me, but rather than sleep in, I was woken up by a brilliant silvery light that invaded my darkened room. I knew it was the moon enticing  me to join her, but at 5am, after being so sleep deprived, my brain protested. However, for a change, I obediently followed my intuition. I had a feeling that there was something important in this call to action.  With fluffy robe and bleary eyes, I walked towards my bright companion. For a moment I closed my eyes and bathed in the light, but it wasn’t the light I was called to witness, it was the passing of time.

Image Courtesy: donsmithblog.com
Image Courtesy: donsmithblog.com

You see, the moon was poised just above a small mountain near my home and as I stood watching, I could see for the first time, her relatively rapid movement as she made her way back down into the lingering hours of darkness and her light slowly dissolving from view.  With the stillness of the mountain as a marker, I had a sense of her movement which I hadn’t noticed before. When I occasionally glanced up at the moon, she appeared to be part of a magnificent still life, a painting of cosmic beauty, but with the picturesque mountain quietly standing its ground, I suddenly realised how quickly the moon moved across the sky and equally, how quickly her departure marked the end of yet another 12 hours, never to return.

Image courtesy: creationscienchalloffame.org
Image courtesy: creationscienchalloffame.org

I realised that this brilliant celestial body moved at the same pace she always has, ever since her creation, with a rhythmic and steady pace, the way that all cosmic bodies rotate and girate to the grand universal clock.  This bella Luna suddenly gave me a breathtakingly accurate picture of time.  I’d never stood long enough to watch day or night sky, otherwise I would have seen this magnificent procession, as it circled the planet with unbridled determination years ago.

Image courtesy: inspirably.com
Image courtesy: inspirably.com

For the first time, I saw our earth’s clock ticking and with it, my own time signature.  Suddenly I was hit with the realisation that time really waits for no one, the sun will rise and set, as will the moon, each day cascading into the next, an ever flowing river of time that cannot be halted.

The Lesson?  If there something to be done, don’t dwell on it, just do it. If there is something that ails you, try to find a solution and solve your dilemma so that you can get back into life and do the things make your heart smile.

Image courtesy: elmesky.com
Image courtesy: elmesky.com

As I write this now, the sun is now setting over the same picturesque mountain. It’s fiery glow was piercing my eyes as I began this piece and now as I conclude, it has already dropped into the awaiting arms of the night sky. My little mountain has become my new time marker. Who needs a watch when you have the heavenly sky?  So with time literally marching along, will I get that walk in that I promised myself, or do that creative course I keep putting off with lame excuses, or call my mother before she calls me again?  Will I do these things before the heavenly bodies settle too many more times behind that mountain?

Image courtesy: aquotes.net
Image courtesy: aquotes.net

bookmark_borderThe Knight in Shining 2 Piece Suit (FFAW)

Image courtesy: charliefoxtrot.com.au
Image courtesy: charliefoxtrot.com.au

For the love of writing, why has it taken me so long to finally write a piece for the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers blog?  I’ve always been an avid reader but it’s only in the past couple of years that I’ve admitted to an equal love of writing. I recently joined Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers, here’s the link:  https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com as a way to get me to do the thing I love. Yes, it’s sad but true, I often put my great loves aside because I feel that I would be more useful doing chores like ironing or cleaning the toilets, anything that “contributes” in a “worthwhile” way!

Today I woke up and realised how silly this notion was. There is so much to be gained from the written word, knowledge and understanding of our world comes from the written word, not forgetting that well written stories help us feed our imagination and give us a chance to escape the every day grind, like ironing and cleaning toilets.  And I thought, why not just do it because I enjoy it?  Good enough reason me thinks.  So here’s my piece.

Flash Fiction of Aspiring Writers provides a picture prompt and asks writers to produce a story between 75-175 words. Here’s my first piece.

The Knight in Shining 2 Piece Suit

Photo courtesy of BarbCT/Knotholes and Textures
Photo courtesy of BarbCT/Knotholes and Textures

For me there was no finer man.  I knew it the day I met him, under similar circumstances to today. This time it was shoes I’d clasped in a hurry, threatening to topple me over, a damsel in distress.  He constantly gives up his manly gladiator role to offer gentle assistance.  I’ve always tended on the clumsy side, always in a rush, like the time I  exited the book store with my head buried in my latest purchase, walking straight onto the sidewalk, unaware of the world around me. I slammed straight into him as he was rushing past to catch his bus, his rush no longer mattered as he bent down to rescue me and my prized book, both of us unceremoniously sprawled across the pavement.

Since that day, he’s been my little protector and helper, always at the ready with a kind word and a gentle hand.  I’d gladly relinquish all my shiny shoes for a lifetime with my Knight in Shinning 2 Piece Suit.