YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE --- CAREFUL, THIS ONE'S DEEEEP

A beautiful quote:

"Did you know that on the 21st of June your shadow is shorter than Dec. 21st when it is a lot longer.  There maybe a point in what you are saying.  We and the whole universe are so connected, I do not know why many times we think we are the center of the universe.  Is our ego bigger than ourself?"
Wisdom from the sage of Micronesia, Justa Kubarii.  [Put your Google on "Image" and enter "Palau" for an insight on where Justa grew up.]


You are reading this on the day marked as the Summer Solstice.  The longest day of the year.  For us here on the 38th parallel it won't be as spectacular nor as protracted as it is for those of you on the 43rd or 45th.  But don't begrudge Mother Nature the extra two minutes.  Also don't begrudge her the short shadow.  Kiss her good morning after you pick yourself up off the floor and thank her for letting you sleep in an extra bit.  Sometime during the day, go out and give her a big hug for letting you see your shadow for one more day.  Nothing wrong with that, is there?  
Like Justa said, we have this conviction so often that we are the center of the universe.  There used to be a saying in English about "...thinking that the sun rises and sets on me..."  Remember that?  If that thought, or that sentiment ever crossed your mind, don't feel sorry for it, but go out today and look at the short shadows on the ground to prove to yourself that there is more than one shadow out  there.  I know that every now and then I ask myself, "Where'd that come from?  So, I'm going to check it out later today too.  
Furthermore, as time goes by, let's all notice that we don't have any power whatsoever to decide what length shadow we are going to throw.  All we can do is to make do with the one Mother Nature gives us for a given time on a given day.  As a matter of fact, there are a lot of things that she lets us do with the shadow we have.  We can get the glare out of someone's eyes; we can make a child laugh by changing the angle of our shadow into some strange shapes; we can even amuse ourselves with the same antic; we can use our shadow to calculate the height of our favorite tree; we can use our shadow to help us guess the time so that we don't keep our date waiting; we can use our shadow to remind us to pray, v.g. "...

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; 

hide me in the shadow of your wings..."[Psalm 17;8].  

  

Finally, our shadow reminds us that all shadows are equal, everyone has one under equal conditions and the conditions that change mine are the same conditions that change yours.  I have no authority over the shape of your shadow.  All I can do is to sweet talk you into changing position and hope that you will enjoy the result. Therefore, get out there today and reflect on the great, gratuitous gift of the shadow and remember that it is the heat of the loving child of Mother Nature, our brother Sun who is in charge.  Today is the threshold of his decline, let's get out there and enjoy the extra two minutes of his presence.


Thanks for the thought, Justa.