The media has made a great story of the possibility of seeing “a total eclipse.” As you may well know to see the eclipse fully is only possible in a very narrow pathway that the rising moon follows so that it fully covers the face of the sun. It just so happens that our farm in PEC happens to lie within the coveted pathway. With that knowledge in mind we headed down to the County to enjoy the contrasting spectacle of “light and darkness”—I understand that Niagara Falls also lies in the path (and would truly be spectacular!) but the prospect of fighting with a million moon gazers quenched any real idea in pursuing such a destination.
The contrasting event of darkness and light generated by the natural phenomenon of the total eclipse reminds me of some lines from Thomas Merton who struggled with the theme of light and darkness in his own life:
In one sense we are always traveling, and traveling as if we did not know where we are going.
In another sense we have already arrived.
We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of God in this life, and that is why we are traveling and in darkness. But we already possess Him by grace, and therefore, in that sense, we have arrived and are dwelling in the light.
But oh! How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived!
The “lightness and darkness” of the total eclipse mirrors our own journey in and out of the shadows. The darkness is deep-rooted (stretching far back to Cain and Abel) and reveals itself wherever we are in our traveling.
Merton’s self-portrait (above) shows a meditative monk musing on the question of lightness and darkness. May we muse with him and ultimately rest as he does on the grace of God who holds us at every point of our traveling whether it be in the twilight or the lustre of the day.