The alarm went off as usual this morning and I rolled out of bed feeling pretty weary. I’d love to say I hopped out of bed, rested, and filled with energy. But I’m all for keeping it real and in perspective these days.
On weekdays, the first order of the day is to walk the dogs. Then Danny and I go about our separate morning routines. So, even though getting out the door within ten minutes of waking feels hard sometimes, it’s a nice way to start the day together. The dogs love it of course. And I love walking the neighborhood in the relative dark, cool, still, quietness before the sun comes up and the streets come to life.
The sky was filled with thick clouds when we went to bed last night. Yet this morning, the sky was clear and alight with a sliver of moon and lots of stars. As we rounded the second to last turn before heading home, I saw a green flame streak across the western sky. Then, it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.
“I just saw a shooting star!”
Danny (sans glasses) said he thought he saw something flash, but didn’t see it clearly. When we got home I remembered he told me about a comet that was supposed to be visible this week. I grabbed my phone and looked it up. The Nishimura Comet is a green comet and was expected to be most visible just before sunrise this morning.
“Danny, it wasn’t a shooting star – it was the comet! It’s supposed to be green and that’s what I saw. I saw the comet and I wasn’t even trying. How cool is that?”
Crashing Back to Earth
Unconvinced by my enthusiasm, Danny said, “I still think you saw a shooting star. First of all, a comet doesn’t appear and disappear that quickly. And second of all, it is supposed to be visible just before sunrise in the eastern skies and what you saw was in the western skies.”
That news took the wind out of my sails for a moment, but I couldn’t shake the magic of the experience. I haven’t seen a shooting star in years, maybe even a decade, yet there was one right in front of me this morning. A green shooting star at the same exact time a green comet, visible for the first time in 430 years was making an appearance right behind me.
My green shooting star, although I tried to assign a different meaning to it, was just that: a green shooting star. Not feeling less than because it wasn’t a comet, but knowing it was exactly what it was meant to be. Burning brightly, doing its thing, shooting across the sky. Not caring that the rest of the world was turned looking in the opposite direction.
Star Stuck
I think I really needed to see a shooting star today. It’s been a tough year for me personally. A tough couple of years, to be honest. My brain wants to spew it all out here in the next few paragraphs, but my heart and my gut know it’s too soon. I’m still too deep in the midst of the struggle to share with any clear perspective. I know it will come in time though.
For now, I will leave you with this. When life feels hard, you might find yourself caught up looking at things from a singular perspective, one that you haven’t questioned, the popular perspective. Shifting your perspective can make it feel even harder. But in the process, you might catch a glimpse of something that will help you keep looking.
Why did I see a green shooting star at the exact same moment a green comet was likely streaking through the sky behind me? I’d like to think of it as a confirmation that I’m facing in the right direction. Even though the rest of the world was looking east, my path is west.
Most days are not going to be shooting star days. Most days are just going to look like stepping out in faith, feeling fear and doubt, but trusting my intuition and stepping anyway. I’ll keep stepping and I’ll keep watching too. Watching for the next fiery green flash, steaking across the sky just for me.. While the rest of the world is looking the other way.
Betsy is a certified life coach and blogger who helps midlife women find satisfaction where they are now and inspiration to go after their big goals.
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