A few weeks ago i went to my sister in laws house, it is in a beautiful location looking out on flood plaind that are currently filled with water, it attracts a fantastic array of birdlife including pelicans, we were even visited by a swarm of green frgs than night as well.
The sun set off over the horizon which was an absolutely beautiful sight to see.
As the light went i could see starts begin to appear, it reminds me of the rhym about wishing upon the first start at night. The darkness set in and as there is less light pollution you can make out more stars than the standard constellations.
To the south is a very familiar constellation, namely the southern cross however unlike the flag, in the early night, the cross sits upside down with the two pointer stars (Alpha and Beta Centauri) point south. It's such a significant constellation as it gave navigators guidance.
As someone who has always been inetrested in science, as well as science fiction i have always been in awe at space and the size of it but it never occured to me stars light years away could be claimed by a nation. I was to find out i had forgotten something.
I pointed to the sky and said to my eldest, "there's the Southern Cross". From the background came a comment that made me cringe. It was from a friend that is a local girl and with a very different view of the world to myself. Her comment was something to the effect of "I'm very patrotic too".
I Bit my tongue because we have different views of the world. Firstly for me the southern cross is not the only constellation is not the only constellation i look for in the night sky, When i look up i usually look for Orion, it is such a dominant constellation and can be seen by pretty much everyone in the world.
This in a way is symbolism of my own feeling of my place in the world.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
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