REFLECTION
Backwoods Blog;
in the woods and on the road…
Walked to Walden last night (moon not quite full) by railroad and upland wood-path, returning by Wayland road. I noticed the night before night before last from Fair Haven how valuable was some water by moonlight, like the river and Fair Haven Pond, though far away, reflecting the light with a faint glimmering sheen, as in the spring of the year. The water shines with an inward light like a heaven on earth. The silent depth and serenity and majesty of water! Strange that we should distinguish gold and diamonds, when these precious elements are so common. I saw a distant river by moonlight, making no noise, yet flowing, as by day, still to the sea, like melted silver reflecting the moonlight…There is a certain glory attends on water by night. By it the heavens are related to the earth, undistinguishable from a sky beneath you. And I forgot to say that after I reached the road by Potter’s Brook, – I saw the moon suddenly reflected full from a pool. A puddle from which you may see the moon reflected, and the earth dissolved under your feet. The magical moon with attendant stars suddenly looking up with mild lustre from a window in the dark earth…No wonder that water reveals itself so far by night; even further in many states of the atmosphere than by day.
Journal of Henry David Thoreau
June 13, 1851
It was a calm day recently when I walked to the stream with coffee cup in hand and gazed across the water. The ledge is steep along the river’s edge so I have to watch my footing, as not to spill any coffee and not to fall in (which has happened before). The surface of the water was still and caught the reflection of sky overhead and the trees and wildflowers from the other side, their image upside down from the opposite shore. I bent down and dipped my hand in the water causing the reflection to ripple, the fluid scenery rolling in mild, concentric waves away from me. As I waited, the temporary disturbance I had caused began to dissipate and the clear reflection returned, but not totally. There was still a slight movement. Curious, I looked down and I noticed a small drip coming off the bottom of my coffee cup and landing in the water at my feet. Ha! One drip can make quite a stir…
We usually think of light and water dancing in the daylight, but Thoreau notes how the night (as long as there is moonlight) dances with it too. Thoreau says, “There is a certain glory attends on water by night” when it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between the solid and the reflected. When I reflect on the past two years plus of the coronavirus pandemic these have been dark times indeed, yet the unprecedented challenges and tragic upheavals have not been without positive responses. Frontline workers from health care to food stores and education proved heroic in their contributions when we were unsure of what might happen next and the speedy development of several effective vaccines to combat the virus and an efficient rollout to get shots in arms were key. This is the light dancing in the darkness. When we need a glimmer of possibility, it flashes from the edge of the dark. The light resides in the depths that we cannot see and when we need it – it is there. Sometimes all we need is the slightest trace of optimism (or light) and it can lead to something much larger than itself. It doesn’t have to be big in order for big things to happen; even a small puddle can reflect the moon.
In the woods,
Dave
June 1, 2022
