STEERING BY STARLIGHT
“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight,
Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight”.
The other day our friend Ron sent us pictures of the recent Ursid meteor shower, one of the most extravagant he has seen, taken from 9000 ft up on Mauna Kea mountain. As the tallest peak in the Hawaiian islands, Mauna Kea is the site of thirteen international observatories that track the cosmos from one of the clearest vantage points on the planet.
Apologizing that, at 2:00 a.m. the quality of the imagery was compromised by ambient light from all the spectators’ vehicles, our intrepid photographer left the 36 degree F temperature and headed back down for what I presume were hot drinks, a shower,
and maybe a catch-up forty winks. It struck me as impressive that so many people were willing to stay up so late (or rise so early) to catch this spectacular show that their headlights compromised our friend’s photos. I also admire Ron’s passion for photography, and especially his willingness to risk frostbite in order to capture this rare meteorological phenomenon (for armchair astrologers like me to stargaze vicariously). Clearly a fascination with all things celestial is shared by many, including the person or persons who first recorded the rhyme I was taught as a child.
Looking up the origins of wishing upon a star, Wikipedia had this to offer:
“The superstition of hoping for wishes granted when seeing a shooting or falling star may date back to the ancient world. Wishing on the first star seen may also predate this rhyme, which first began to be recorded in late nineteenth-century America.”
In regards to the ancient world, I do know that the tribes which originally populated Hawai’i put the stars to good use, navigating their way across vast swaths of open ocean by applying their knowledge of the night sky. Hence the origins of steering by starlight. I asked myself what steering by starlight might mean metaphorically, what thoughts and ideals might guide my evolutionary journey and hopefully manage my monkey mind, the inner saboteur? What practical routines and activities could I perform consistently, so as to free myself from the conflicting desires and conditioned beliefs that prevent me from going where I want to go and being who I want to be. (I know something gets in the way of the perfection I seek!)
I remember reading a quote that went something like: “If you don’t know where you want to go, any road will do.” Going, being and doing require some sense of purpose and direction if we are to live and die consciously. While purpose and direction can change as one ages, every individual has to decide for him or herself what is to be the guiding, or Pole Star at any time of their life. At this stage of my life (but also for the past three-plus decades), I am guided by a desire to evolve in consciousness, to cultivate intuition, and build courage, character and awareness. I do this as much for my children and grandchildren, their friends and subsequent generations, as for my own edification. Though self-acceptance, self-love and self-compassion are essential qualities, I still believe it’s possible (and sometimes imperative) to become a better me. And no better time than during the holiday season, when my illusions of the Norman-Rockwell-best-Christmas-ever interfere with the peace, harmony and ease of well-being I’m hoping to achieve.
In Time to be Holy, a Pole Star of sorts for my spiritual journey, Swami Radha reminds me to take myself less seriously:
“We all enter situations where something irks us, and for a couple of days we may have all sorts of mental conversation about it. If you can put these insignificant things aside without being disturbed in your peace, your sense of harmony and your sleep, you will have taken a great step toward conquering yourself. Many of the things which bother us are very insignificant. We give them a big importance from our sense of perfection, but most of the time our idea of perfection is insignificant. It really doesn’t matter.
“All our thoughts, our dreams, our speculations, our opinions, our convictions and our beliefs really don’t amount to much, except in the area of Higher Consciousness. It is your commitment to the Divine that is the important thing. That is what gives you your place in the cosmos.”
My goal for this season, and in the coming months, is to take whatever life presents me with as a gift, as a chance to learn, to grow, to see the best in others and bring out the best in myself, and take my humble place in the cosmos.
As poet Mary Oliver wrote: “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”