“…we do it every day. Our memory takes us into the past. Our imagination takes us into the future.”
-time travel b-movie (paraphrased)
The image below is a mashup of two slightly overlapping images that I captured from my deck at almost the same time but with slightly different exposures. It was too wide of an angle to capture as a single image, and panorama mode didn’t capture enough light to show the details.
The amazing aspect is what it shows – a view of 4 planets split in the middle by the moon on a single night. I confirmed the planets using an augmented reality astronomy app on my phone. As it is often said, the picture doesn’t do it justice.
I was transfixed on this sight and time seemed to stop. It was an intense experience. Let me state – I am generally not an emotion person, but this touched me deeply. Being the left-brain person that I am, I asked myself…why?
- Did it remind me of my childhood when I was fascinated by the universe and would stare at the stars for hours?
- Did it remind me of the countless nights that we read the book ‘Goodnight Moon’ to our son?
- Was it seeing 4 planets together in a single moment and field-of-view when most planets are typically seen alone or maybe with one other planet?
- Was it the harmonious balance in nature I witnessed from the vantage point of my deck?
- Was it the optimistic promise I saw in the sky that life will find a balance and somehow be ok?
I believe it was all these. I was time traveling in the moment. And that’s what made it so amazing.
Life doesn’t often present opportunities to experience the past, present and future in a single moment. When it does, stop, take it in, and remember how truly blessed life is. And that moment will become a permanent part of your timeline, something you can visit anytime using the time travel of memory.
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