Light Pollution
Several weeks ago, I heard about an opportunity to see the Northern Lights not too far from where I live. Now, seeing the Aurora has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember and I have always planned to see them in Alaska or Iceland or somewhere more traditional. Certainly not in New England! Mostly because, well, they are rarely seen in New England. I tried to not get too excited because, as anyone familiar with celestial events in New England can attest, our weather prevents us from seeing almost anything exciting. The later it gets in the year, the more likely the sky will be overcast at night and, therefore, eclipse whatever event I’m standing outside to see. Still, I checked the weather and was shocked to see that clear skies were predicted all across northern New England.
Could there really be a chance to see the Northern Lights?
The other hiccup for this event comes from the fact that I live in a city. Not a big city, but enough to obscure celestial events. So, about 9:00 p.m. on the event day, my significant other looks at me and says, “Wanna go see if we can find the northern lights?”
Well, yeah! So, we hopped in the car and drove more than an hour north to get away from the light pollution of the city. We found a wide-open field with no houses or lights around and stood out in the cold, windy air staring at the sky. It was so dark, until I looked up. I stood there, mouth open, eyes tearing up at the beauty above me. It wasn’t the aurora borealis. It was millions and millions of stars on a perfectly clear late-fall night and I was overcome with emotion. I could scarcely look away from how awesome and magnificent it was. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to just lay down in the field and lose myself in the vastness. But it was cold and getting late and so we stumbled back to the car in the dark and headed home.
For most of my life I have lived in the city or the suburbs and had forgotten just how incredible the night sky is away from the light pollution of commercialized properties. I had become numb to the beauty that is the night sky because I had allowed myself to be entranced by the artificial lights.
Last week I celebrated St. Lucia Day by bringing a sweet treat to share with my coworkers. In Swedish tradition, St. Lucia is celebrated on the darkest day of the year on the old Julian calendar as she brings the return of the light wearing a ring of candles on her head. And next week we will celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World.
All of these events have reminded me of the importance of focusing on the light. Darkness is not the absence of light, but the inability to see it. When we allow society, social media, and technology to distract us, we become complacent to the darkness. And we stop looking for the light. Eventually, we could become unable to find it at all.
As we approach the winter solstice and Christmas, I encourage you to put down the phone, turn off the television and computers, turn away from the distractions that carry us into the darkness. And focus on the light. Be patient with yourselves; it may take some time for your eyes to adjust. Breathe it in. Look up into the night sky and allow yourself to feel small in the vastness of the universe. You, too, have a light to shine in the world. Allow people to see it, because we all need more of that. Be brave, be kind.
