Here’s to November
Whatever our differences and divisions as a nation, we all heaved a collective sigh last week when the intense and emotional election season finally ended. One thing we can all agree on: We’re relieved the elections are over and we can move on with our lives. The rest of November lies before us and the holidays beckon.
November nights
As confusion and uncertainty reigns on earth, why not look to the skies for order and inspiration? America’s favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, tells us that our ancestors passed on to us our natural curiosity for star gazing from humans’ unique ability to sleep on our backs at night, something other creatures cannot do.
While we were watching election results, we could have been watching celestial events like the Southern Taurids, a meteor shower which the American Meteor Society informs us peaked on the nights of November 4 and 5. The Northern Taurids peaked just a couple of days ago, on November 11 and 12. If, like me, you missed both, you can still catch the Leonids meteor showers on the nights of November 16 and 17 in the northern hemisphere. And a bonus: the moon will almost be full by then.
Thankful
We have Thanksgiving and the holiday season to look forward to. We are thankful for peace in our nation. We are grateful that we can gather and celebrate the holidays with loved ones even as wars continue to rage in many parts of the world. Our hearts go out to all living beings who continue to suffer and die in wars and other calamities across the globe.
May peace prevail on earth.
We have the rest of November to savor. Naturalist Hal Borland, in This Hill, This Valley: A Memoir (1957), describes how November evokes our senses:
“November nights are long and chill and full of stars and the crisp whisper of fallen leaves skittering in the wind. November nights are good for walking down a country road, when the world is close about you…To walk on such a night is to know that the only mysteries are the great mysteries of all time – the stars, the heavens, the restless wind-tides, the spinning Earth, and man himself…Night, when the cool of the year has come, is the time to walk with them and know intimately the bold simplicities.”
Photo by Annie Nyle on Unsplash