First, on our sunset run, everything was golden or green and reflections bounced off of the mirrored lake.
Second, I couldn't fall asleep tonight so I slipped outside with a sweatshirt and my camera to photograph the stars. The annual Perseid meteor shower is peaking overnight. I saw four meteors--two huge bright ones--but I didn't capture any with the camera. Although the sight of the stars alone is breathtaking.
I came inside after only an hour because I started hearing some rustling in the bushes by our back fence and remembered that we smelled skunk a few nights ago. It's getting cold out anyway and I'm going to take a midnight bath.
Today I found a sense of peace that I haven't felt in a long time. It's hard to describe. It is the feeling of watching a loved one suffer through a serious illness and finally pass peacefully; the end of a battle. This overwhelming feeling of joy and good health I've been carrying with me since mid-June has replaced the woes of cancer treatments and 132 pills per week. I wake up in the morning wanting to accomplish things rather than struggling to get off of the couch. I feel alive again. There is something to be said about lying under the stars alone, it brings your thoughts to focus.
“Stars open among the lilies.
Are you not blinded by such expressionless sirens?
This is the silence of astounded souls.”
― Sylvia Plath, Crossing the Water
Suddenly everything is as clear as today's reflections on the water and everything that ever mattered to me is right here in front of me. I feel stronger than ever.