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Moon Shadow


Cat Stevens (er Yusuf Islam) was on regular rotation in my high school art class, thanks to our teacher's affinity for his music.  One of his songs came to mind during this week's full moon.

Out in the country, we have much less light pollution than in the city. Something to which I'm still adjusting. During the full moon, this becomes even more pronounced, when the landscape gains an eerie glow from the white glow of Earth's only natural satellite. Initially, I was astonished to the effect, due to how little we experience such a simple natural phenomenon in the modern urban and suburban settings where a good part of the world's population lives these days.

The reaction was not unlike the astonishment that Cat Stevens experienced on a holiday trip to Spain, which inspired one of his favorite songs. And it led me to reflect that our disconnect with the brilliance of the moon is a relatively recent occurrence in human history, ever since electricity and light bulbs coupled with skyscrapers starting coloring the skies just over 100 years ago. Before that, the idea of a moon shadow would not have been so foreign. Before that, the moon and its impact would set the day and month for as many people as are blind from its effect due to urbanization.

So, I'll have a listen to Cat Stevens and enjoy the peaceful meditation of a field colored with moon shadow.

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