Seeing stars

Wait and see

The secret to viewing shooting stars, as I discovered while I lay on the gently rocking dock, with the crickets buzzing behind me and the Milky Way misting across the blackness, is not to look for them.

Instead, it’s to wait… and then see.

Meteors punish effort. Seek in the north-west, or at Perseus, or near the horizon, and a shooting star will show up somewhere else.

Desire too hard – and as soon as you despair and reach for your phone, a meteor will say ha, got you, you impatient you!

No, the secret is to gaze without aim – and allow the shooting star to arrive.

It’s to be open and ready for what happens.

It’s to want without wanting.

Maybe that’s one of the secrets to life itself?