A Time to Reflect

I like the night.

There is something very appropriate about the cycle of light and darkness. During the day, people go about living their lives but retire when the sun goes down to sleep the darkness away.

Nighttime appeals to me because as I get older and life gets more complicated, I find I need time to get away from any and all distractions so I can enjoy time in the present, even if it’s only a moment.

At night, traffic dies down, house lights go off and it seems like life slows down enough to enjoy the fleeting moments we miss during the day.

Some don’t like darkness because of the associations of blackness and scary boogymen contained therein.

I say darkness is a misnomer.

A full moon lights up the sky almost as bright as the sun during the day. Beams of colour from the Northern Lights streak across the sky like strokes from a paintbrush on a canvas and stars dot the cosmos, shining in various degrees of luminescence. 

What gets me about stars is the sheer amount of them in the sky.

Every time I look up into the night sky and see all the bright specks of light, I think about how each star could be the centerpiece of another solar system. With billions of stars in the sky, it makes me feel somewhat insignificant at times.

All of these nighttime sources of light cut through the darkness. Even in darkness, our pupils have the ability to dilate which lets in more light and allows us to see better. 

In addition to philosophical perspectives, stars have been worshipped and used as a navigational tool by ancient seafarers.

Stars are not visible during the day, which make them unique to night.

I find night to be a time of quietness opposite to the crazy pace of daytime.

At night, people go to bed, TVs get turned off, phone calls stop and I have time to think, listen to the blues music of a bygone era - and write.