Enjoying the stillness of the lunar eclipse

I got into a frenzy early afternoon. Which hiking group to join? Which one will find the perfect spot to watch the lunar eclipse? As I was weighing my options, I couldn’t get excited about any of the hikes.

Now, I live in Los Angeles, so observing night skies takes some planning due to the light smog everywhere. The Griffith Observatory held a public event for star moon gazers. That sounded exciting.

I am always on the go and last year was an exceptional busy year. I found it difficult to just sit and relax. Going on my hikes was the closest to stillness of the mind that I accomplished. As I was busy planning what I would want to take to the observatory, I decided to stop. Stop planning. Stop doing. Instead I went to our rooftop terrace and ended up with a perfect view of the moon and the lunar eclipse. It was fantastic!

I first caught the moon in its partial eclipse and quickly noticed that I’d better get my tripod up onto the roof top. It was well worth it.

I just sat there and watched the moon change colors during the eclipse and every now and then pressed the shutter release.

This photo was taken right at the maximum eclipse point. The moon was at its darkest at this point and I just watched in awe.

Sitting on this big marvelous thing called Earth, that created a crazy big shadow and swallowed all light from the moon, I suddenly felt so small imagining the sun-earth-moon constellation at this exact point. I was a tiny speck in the universe.

A few minutes later, light slowly came back. The moment of stillness and reflection passed. I packed up my camera and went back to my busy life with a smile on my face having experienced this magnificent moment.

This post was inspired by V.J.s Weekly Challenge #32: Stillness.