Dancing with the Cosmos

When observing the scope of the galaxy, one might narrow their focus to a single star or to the discovery of planets light-years away. Each element of the sky can tell a unique story. Yet perhaps the most incredible truth of the cosmos lies not in distant worlds but in our shared view of its earthly portrayal, the phases of the moon, and the constellations that light up a dark night’s sky. We can stare at the same stars that shone in the age of dinosaurs, and still, each night the sky appears entirely new from every vantage point on Earth.

The cosmos is not exclusive to the night. The sun sheds the veil of the cosmos for us to see the world, freeing us from the metaphysical nightscape. Sunrise spills across panes of east-facing windows, casting bursts of warm orange light that flash as you pass. That same sun silhouettes the trees lining the road you drive to work. The light provides us with the ability to observe and better understand our place of being. But as the western sun slips below the horizon, the curtain of night is hung back up, providing us with myth, mystery, and contemplation.

Our eyes are the vehicles of deception driven by our brains. Shadows cast at night can create figures that appear as real as the nightstand sitting at your side. Any effort to examine these figures makes them run away, as the change in perspective creates new characters to haunt us with.

Perspectives can flip in the blink of an eye. With each passing second, the sun crosses to a new stage in its day, rising or sinking from its height. The moon dances with the sun across the night sky, reshaping the worldliness of our beings. It is up to us to determine if these figures, made by the celestial tango, are real or something illusory that we have crafted to fill the void of our inability to see without the sun opening the world up to us.

One must then assume that these shadow characters are as real as the coming and going of morning dew or frost. Shadows come from the same source as our telling of the world: its colors, its seasons, and its time. They can dance through the clouds under a passing plane and ripple along the bed of the sea deep below the surface, where the sun and ocean kiss. They come and go in the cycle of the sun and grow untethered under the moon. The night is theirs to wander while we lie idle, just as when we rise with the sun, they must rest below our feet and wait.