I told a friend that I had a happy memory of the Municipal Works Yard near his place. Really? A works yard? There's not usually much to see there but big barns with salt and sand, big trucks to take care of the roads and other heavy machinery. Not a place that sounds much fun.
But as we drove home from my sister's place on a cold clear winter night, I caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights out the rear-view mirror. I pulled off the rural road and parked in the works yard so we could watch for a while. We lingered until the cold chased us back into the car. It was splendid. It felt like a moment out of time. I've seen the aurora before and since, but that night was special - a blessing dropped into an ordinary evening.
We feel nourished in these moments when we can just relax and take joy our world - get a sense of something much larger than us, that we can feel our part in. Moments like these remind us that we are nature.
Another blessing came on the drive up another rural road towards my daughter's hometown. I caught a glimpse in the dark of small lights moving over a farmer's field. Fireflies! Thousands of them in the warm summer night! I pulled over and we stepped out of the car to take it in. What a sight. Like the aurora, I have seen fireflies like this before and since. But that night was special, too. Other curious drivers slowed to see what was interesting and they pulled over behind us to share the blessing.
Funny how these blessings stuck with me after over twenty-five years. I could easily have rushed home without stopping. I'm glad I didn't.
