On this rooftop where we're sitting, in the rays of the setting sun
Glasses of wine on a crate between us catch the light -- seem to glow from within
And there's a laugh hanging in the air, And there's no desperation anywhere
So many miles, so many doors - some need patience, some need force
All fall open in their own due course to allow us this time
And your limned in light, golden and thin looks to me like you're lit up from within
And look how far the light came, look how far the light came, look how far the light came
To paint you this way
- "Look How Far", Breakfast In New Orleans, Dinner In Timbuktu (1999)
Glasses of wine on a crate between us catch the light -- seem to glow from within
And there's a laugh hanging in the air, And there's no desperation anywhere
So many miles, so many doors - some need patience, some need force
All fall open in their own due course to allow us this time
And your limned in light, golden and thin looks to me like you're lit up from within
And look how far the light came, look how far the light came, look how far the light came
To paint you this way
- "Look How Far", Breakfast In New Orleans, Dinner In Timbuktu (1999)
Magic moments happen all the time, if we will only look and see them. Just last night, my wife and I sat in the light of the setting sun - in our backyard rather than a rooftop. The night sky changed from blue to orange to red to purple, glistening with twinkling stars. The gloaming light made her look radiant, and a sense of connection with everything settled over us. It was a magic moment.
Even more amazing than the light that bathes us in such beauty is the incredible distance that light has traveled. The light of our sun, which made our moment together so magical, traveled 98 million miles...taking 8 minutes to transverse the distance. The little twinkling jewels that littered the night sky are hundreds and thousands of times more distant...their light travels hundreds and thousands of years to fall on our eyes and paint wonder in the sky above us. The light from most of the stars we see left that star before our nation was founded; some during the time of the Dark Ages; some before Jesus walked the earth, or the Egyptian empire was formed.
The light is beautiful, magical...necessary! But consider how far it has come, to touch your skin at just this moment.
Considering this, my heart is overcome with the grace that lies at the heart of the universe. Yes, perhaps this reality we live can be harsh, cold, unfeeling, unconcerned with the plight of little humans in such a big place. But there are those moments when we see that something else is happening - there is something or someone - in the universe that reaches out to us, loves us, yearns for us, and pours beauty out to us and in us.
If we choose, we can hear the laugh hanging in the air; and we can settle back, knowing that - for a moment - there is no desperation in our lives. We don't have to seek the light, it has sought us. And it has found us. It shines on us whether we know it or not, like it or not. We may even, at times, prefer darkness.
But the light has come a long way, just for us, just at this moment. Enjoy the truth, that you are loved, valued, sought after, yearned for. Don't believe it? Step outside, and hold your hand out in the light, of sun or star or moon.
Look how far the light came, to paint you, this way.
Namaste!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQnWBZsIe7Y
