Illuminating the Carnate

I don’t know why I chose these words as the title for this entry. Maybe I just like the way they sound together. But it gives the impression, to me, of shedding or pouring light into the embodiment of the present. All too often we worry so much about the future or dwell in the past. We forget to embrace the moment, the today.

Last night, I wandered into the humid night air just after sunset. Directly to the west of my front porch is a dense tree line. It is good that the foliage is dense. Plant life in my area seems to be flourishing this year after our first mild spring in what seems like a decade. The summer is upon us now, but even it has been welcomed. Although the air occasionally is dense with stickiness, the temperatures have not surpassed 95 and have even often dwelled right in the 80’s. This has been unheard of during the last few summers when the heat sent thermometers spiraling over 100 degrees before noon. Nice..

For a moment I gazed upon the tree line. Even though my house is situated in a suburban neighborhood, most of the residents are retired and have settled quietly in their beds by 9 pm. This leaves a serene silence on my street. The darkness is un-pierced by street lamps. The only illumination is the faint stars peeking from behind the cloud cover. And tonight, the fireflies are dancing in the dense trees. Almost as if Christmas has entered the balmy June night; their fluttering is reminiscent of a decorated twinkling pine.

I watch the tree line often, for our weather typically approaches from the west. I can determine what is heading my way by the way the branches move. The sun also sets behind them. Brilliant colors gleam between the branches creating an unusual glow. Tonight, the trees are silhouetted by a quiet lightening storm. I estimate it to be several miles down river, because of the absence of thunder. Faintly, I catch the whisper of the incoming rain.

The lightening caresses the cloud cover alternating from blue, red, pink then purple. Combined with the tiny flicker of the fireflies in the tree line, it makes for quite a show. A show I may not see tomorrow and I have not been present for before. Illuminating the carnate, the currentness, the now, the moment, today.