Retroactive Blessings

C. S. Lewis wrote: “They say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” (The Great Divorce, 1946).

The Southern Physical World

"There was the influence of the Southern physical world - itself a sort of cosmic conspiracy against reality in favor of romance.  The country is one of extravagant colors, of proliferating foliage and bloom, of flooding yellow sunlight, and above all perhaps, of haze….The dominant mood, the mood that lingers in the memory, is one of well-nigh drunken reverie - of a hush that seems all the deeper for the far-away mourning of the hounds and the far-away crying of the doves - of such sweet and inexorable opiates as the rich odors of hot earth and pinewood and the perfume of the magnolia in bloom - of soft languor creeping through the blood and mounting surely to the brain,,,,It is a mood, in sum, in which directed thinking is all but impossible, a mood in which the mind yields almost perforce to drift and in which nothing any more seems improbable save the puny inadequateness of fact, nothing incredible save the bareness of truth."

 ~ W. J. Cash from The Mind of the South (1941)

Where Is The Feast?

About three weeks ago the Summer Solstice occurred, and a full moon came along as an added benefit. And even cooler, this was the June Strawberry Full Moon (according to the monthly full moon naming custom of the Native American Algonquin Tribe). This was a very big deal because it is the first time we have had a Summer Solstice full moon since 1948 (according to National Geographic) or 1967/aka The Summer of Love (according to The Washington Post).  I tend to go with National Geographic on matters of this sort, so I considered this event to be something wonderful that had never happened before in my lifetime.  And since the next Summer Solstice Full Moon will happen in 2062, long after I am dead, I realized I had only one shot at this experience.  

I headed outside with my camera for this once (literally) in a lifetime event, and waited, waited, waited for the moon to break from behind clouds.  While waiting I stood in the dark thinking that the street should be lined with people pointing, waiting, and gasping when the moon finally broke the prison of clouds.  But, alas, I was alone.

Where are festivals these day?  

My Summer Solstice Festival was observed alone and in my heart on a dark road.  But that was cool enough. I didn't miss out.  When the gigantic moon appeared I was just thrilled to be alive to see it and be a part of creation.  Even though I couldn't take a good photo, I have this little shot on my iPhone to remind me of the experience. Thomas Moore (A Religion Of One's Own) would heartily approve.