Thursday, April 5, 2012

A moonlight ride

If there's one thing I love about spring and fall, it's the moonlight rides. When else can you begin your ride outside after work in the early evening with sun shadows and finish with moon shadows? When the sun is going down and the moon is coming up, and is soon bright and nearly-full or full?

Last night, at the end of my ride, I stood Limerick in the middle of the arena, facing away from the moon. Our moon shadows were crisp and dark, and above me the clouds had partially cleared to reveal starry skies and Jupiter. The cold was just biting enough--I had on my heavy winter coat and winter riding boots--and the wind blew hard enough to stand Limerick's mane straight up as we stood there. But it was perfect.

I reflected upon what a wonderful moment that was and wondered how many more times I would get to do that in my lifetime, and how many more times I would get to do it on Limerick's back. Hopefully countless more times, but you never truly know.

As we stood there, I also thought about how tiny and insignificant we were beneath the scope of the ever-revolving sky--the sun, moon, stars, and planets. And I realized it didn't matter. What matters is that you take the time to stop and savor moments like these. Enjoy life always, and never take the small things for granted...the spectacular show that is Mother Nature included.

No comments: