Today I Give Thanks for Shooting Stars

 

Today I give thanks for shooting stars.  A couple of mornings ago, I woke up super early.  It was clear and the stars shone alongside a crescent moon when suddenly a meteor streaked across the horizon!  I had all but forgotten about this, but yesterday its image popped into my head, and I mentioned it to my great-niece.  She asked, “What did you wish for?”  Wish for?  I hadn’t even thought about making a wish!

 

So…I figure that it was a pretty good sized shooting star, so maybe its powers can extend beyond one or two days?  What could I wish for?  Let’s see…maybe world peace?  Not sure that one shooting star will do  – maybe I’d better wait for the August meteor showers for that one!

 

Maybe something a little closer to home.  How about maybe I enjoy my family and friends while I’m still here with my wits about me?  That seems like a wish one star could manage – especially with a little extra help from me.  So here it goes… “From today forward until I’m no longer here, may I enjoy friends, revel in my family, and bring a bit of light into the life of those I meet along the way.”

 

In the following two stanzas and refrain from Carrie Newcomer’s song The Gathering of Spirits, our lives are described as different types of stars:

 

And don't we make it shine
Aren't we standing in the center of
Something rare and fine…

 

Some glow like embers
Like a light through colored glass
Some give it all in one great flame

Throwing kisses as they pass

 

So let it go my love my truest
Let it sail on silver wings
Life's a twinkling and that's for certain
But it's such a fine thing…

 

Today I give thanks for shooting stars.  I hope they always remind me of the promises I’ve made and the kind of life I hope to live fully to my end.