By adding sun-splashed white frosting to the gray and brown landscape, last weekend’s snowstorm provided a bright spot at this low-light time of year.
To me, any upticks in wintertime light soften the passage of these cold months. That’s why in our house we pull up every roll-down shade this time of year to let the sun shine in.
Although astronomers said that the recent supermoon wasn’t much different than a mainstream full moon, I enjoyed gazing at that little extra brightness from our shining satellite before, during and after the moon was full on Dec. 3.
Such was the case on the night of Dec. 7, as I drove north and east on West River Road in Providence. Ahead in the darkness hovered a gigantic yellow hemisphere of moon sliced by a stack of silhouetted cirrus clouds. How stirring!
Recently I’ve “bathed” in light under neighborhood sweet gum trees. Sweet gum grows naturally in forests to our south and west, such as in the Carolinas. Around here, sweet gum is used as a landscape and street tree.
Maybe because of the warm and dry weather last October, many local sweet gums have held onto their star-shaped leaves.
Typically those leaves turn yellow, then purple, and finally, red. This fall, however, the foliage morphed into a rich shade of yellow, period.
These days, the resulting islands of golden color are welcome bursts of radiance, especially when sunlight illuminates the foliage.
Such basic forms of light re-engage my attention. Standing in their presence allows me to refocus on my own inner light away from the draining pulses of energy emitted by phones, computers and TV screens. The natural light also serves as a fitting reason to step outside to observe the simple beauty of our surroundings.
If you were around, and of a certain age, in 1969, you may remember the popular song, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.”
Now, with natural light at its lowest, “let the sunshine in” carries extra-special meaning.
More light brightens the soul. It is joyous. Still, as much as we need light to illuminate life’s journey when we’re facing our darkest hours, I would trade in all of that illumination for one candle in the night if we could make true the second-stanza of lyrics in “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” Those words herald a time of, “Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding, no more falsehoods or derisions … ”
Now that would qualify as a modern-day miracle.
Scott Turner’s (scottturnerster@gmail.com) nature column appears here most Fridays.