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“We are funny creatures. We don’t see the stars as they are, so why do we love them? They are not small gold objects, but endless fire.”

Saul Bellow

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Well.

Full disclosure. I love the stars. And I believe in making wishes on stars <particularly falling stars>.

I imagine that makes me a funny creature because it means I don’t see stars as they are. Maybe more importantly, I imagine that in some way that makes me a dreamer <I like that>. But. Most importantly I would like to think instead that it make me more human. One who dreams and wishes and sees possibilities of what could be seems to be about as human as a human can be. It seems pretty human to see the night sky as what can be imagined & not what just is.

Look.

Stars aren’t unicorns. Nor are they rainbows with pots of gold and all that shit. Stars are tangible in that they represent real planets millions of miles away <presumably some with somene who has dreams and wishes too>.  Ok. That latter thought is intangible in that they represent life as it exists elsewhere.

Like … is there someone on that star looking at us? I don’t believe in aliens and UFOs and all that stuff but I do find it hard to believe that in the almost infinite universe of galaxies and stars and planets we are the only ones who exist. That would be … well … slightly pretentious, don’t you think?

But.

That is not really the point <life somewhere else>. Stars represent a beautiful thoughtful intangible. They represent the unknown & possibilities in little flickering lights n the night sky. I would also suggest they represent the immensity of Life.

Regardless.

Stars are not gold. They are little fires awaiting us. Awaiting our thoughts and wishes and dreams to sit nearby and warm their hands over. I like to think I have loved the stars too fondly to think of them as something as tangible as gold.

They are what could be. They are possibility. They are what we reach for … because they are what we imagine <but most likely will never attain>. In some way they represent immortality of what could be. The never ending list of wishes and things to come. The broad sweeping infiniteness of everything which lies beyond.

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“The insatiable thirst for everything which lies beyond, and which life reveals, is the most living proof of our immortality.”

Charles Baudelaire

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infinite i sweaerAnd maybe that’s the tricky part with stars. Infinite is, well, not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for those who thrive on destinations or even those who thrive on specific tangible objectives..

And maybe that is why I love stars & their fire so much. They embody the joy and power of the journey, the thought, and not the destination and achievement. They embody possibilities.

As I look at stars, I know I will never reach that star, but, boy, I sure do like reaching for it.

Anyway. In my mind there should be more of us ‘funny creatures’ in today’s world. More seeking endless fire rather than little pieces of gold. The good news? Every night you have the chance to be a funny creature.

 

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Written by Bruce