Starry Night

Sometimes I wish I had the gift to express my feelings in poetry. To be able to write with words, and get across the depth of my feelings. But alas, I do not. The closest medium that I have is my photography, and even with that, I lack the skill to truly expose my thoughts. And it's not as if I have deep thoughts, like some philosopher or man of wisdom. I lack the ability to express thoughts that are really not that complex. Fortuantly, I don't think I'm alone in that regard. I think many of us are looking for ways to express ourselves, and feeling like we are failing at it. I wonder how many out there are also searching... not for answers.. but simply for a way to express and share our thoughts.

Tonight I sat beneath a clear night sky, looking at the stars. I saw the Big Dipper, one of the few childhood lessons that stuck with me. It's fascinating to me the things you learn that stick with you, as compared with all the things you learn and forget. But that's topic for a different night. Tonight, I sat and marveled at the stars, and how insignificant they can make you feel.

Have you ever looked at the stars and wondered how many others out there in the world were doing the same thing? Looking at the same stars? Have you ever thought about how when you are long gone, and all memory of you has faded, that the same stars will be there, shining brightly over someone else, thinking the same thing? I think that is part of why I enjoy landscape photography so much. On one hand I know I'm catching a moment that no one else saw, and yet on another hand, I'm photographing a place that has been the same for ages, and will be the same long after I am gone. It's humbling to stand atop the great divide.