Sky-Dance – At Sea, 11:37pm – [08/30/2019]

There are some things…that defy any kind of description. That will take your breath away even if you are fortunate enough to see them more than once…

When the annoucement bell goes off after 10pm at night, there are really only two reasons for it: an extreme emergency (which is preceded by an extremely loud alarm) or something incredibly special. There was no alarm at 10:30pm this evening, but there was an PA bell, which I was fortunate to even hear as I had my gaming headphones on at the time…

Ladies and Gentlemen, this your captain speaking, my apologies for the late night interruption but the Northern Lights are visible above the ship and this is something that does not happen to us very often…

Not very often indeed…in my near-decade with the company (my goddess has it really been that long?) I have been blessed to see the Northern Lights exactly once before this.

Up and down the corridor doors opened and slammed shut, and people practically ran up to the sky deck. Some having only time to wrap themselves in a bathrobe over their pajamas.

And…there they were.

Arching over the ship like the trail of an angel across the star-studded night. Impossible to capture unless you have a much much stronger photography skill than I, the Northern Lights are something that you can do nothing but stare at, and they shift and change and disappear even as you stare. A path across the sky that you find yourself yearning to be a part of, stretching towards…

The Lights are something you just…experience.

I am far from egotistical enough to think that anything in nature is sent for me; I am just one tiny person on one tiny planet in the vast symphony of the universe; one little tiny cluster of thoughts and emotions that in the grand scheme of things may not leave much of an impression – so no, the Lights aren’t “for me”, the Lights aren’t “for” anyone…but seeing them, just now, just at this point in my life when honestly everything feels somehow upside-down – made my heart feel so much lighter and freer than I thought possible…

Catch a falling star….they seem to say…trust where it will take you….

There are a lot of times when I will freely admit that I do not like my job. Heck, there are plenty of times when I’ll admit that I may not like my life. But some people? They work their whole lives in an office, staring out a window at another office…

And me? I get to stand in the cold Alaskan starlight and watch the Lady paint her pictures across the sky…

And there is no picture, or words…that can truly capture the joy that comes with that.

This entry was posted in Alaska, Below the waterline, Flash Backs, Historical Sites, Reflections, Sadie, Summer Contracts, Transitions. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Sky-Dance – At Sea, 11:37pm – [08/30/2019]

  1. Linda Garber says:

    Beautiful description!!Love, Linda

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