April 28, 2021 Pink Supermoon

A glow echoed in the distance blocked by the mountains. Beaming from behind its earthen cover, a sliver of the moon shone towards the sky. I stared in anticipation and awe as it crept rapidly upwards. The man in the moon stared back down at me, his face appeared over the peaks reflected in the shimmering water of the Okanagan Lake.

They said it would be a supermoon. This was one time they were absolutely right. The glory of the moon shone high into the heavens. I opened my mouth in awe and pulled in a rapid breath. The brilliance of the lunar light took my breath and held it in its grasp. 

The moon climbed higher into the sky, lighting up the night. For a brief moment, I imagined myself standing in this spot hundreds of years ago. I could imagine how a member of the Syilix nation would have felt seeing the intense glow of a supermoon. To them, it meant a new season and new opportunities. The people that roamed this land all that time ago were far more in sync with nature and with the lunar cycles than anyone in the modern world. 

The flower moon meant the native people knew it was time to start planting. Spring was in bloom and the time had begun to celebrate Grandmother Moon and all her bountiful gifts. Those people did not need any of the modern trappings of life that we hold so dear, the Syilix were in touch with the elements of our world in a way we can only hope to imitate. 

It is something we are missing.

As our modern world continues to race towards its inevitable goal of consumption and greed, I long for simpler times. Standing and looking at the moon fill the sky with its presence I breathe in the pure wonder of it all. The man in the moon seems to be looking down at us and crying for what we have lost. For all we have gained with our technological marvels, we have lost a piece of what made the native cultures thrive for over a thousand years in the valley of life that is the Okanagan. 

We have lost connection with mother earth and all her wonderful gifts. Staring into that incredible moon shining down and reflecting off the lake below I think about how minuscule our moment in time is right now. The man staring down from his lunar heights has seen many changes upon the earth below. We are merely a speck in the vast history of the world. 

A year ago I hoped that we could regain some of the connection we once had. It seems that the opposite is true.  

All we can do is stop and stare at the wonder of a supermoon. What the world needs to do is slow down and embrace the moments like these that make us feel closer to the amazing universe we are a part of.