Totality

For a few months I'd been hearing about the eclipse that was coming to North America...

it was a rare full solar eclipse within driving distance from my house.

It would be a schlep.

A definite road trip.

School would have started.

Life would be interrupted.

Plenty of reasons to not make the effort...

but it was like a tiny little magnet was tucked into my soul...and the pull was the shadow of the moon.

I knew it was a must.

I've gotten good at listening to this inner whisper of mine...and it doesn't disappoint.

It always leads me to some moment that was exactly what my heart needed.

Turns out today, my heart needed totality.

Totality.

Every last drop.

ALL of it.

Yes, that's exactly what my heart needed.

I found a nursery and wedding venue that was mostly a lovingly tended herb garden that was willing to open their place to people to camp there.

It was called Thyme Garden.

The universe had fun with words today, trust me.

In rural Oregon...in the coastal mountain range, is a little spot called Alsea.

Located in a valley is the Thyme Garden.

I had no recommendations from Trip Advisor...no good friend who pointed the way...just an email that was delightful and inviting and open hearted...

my kind of people.

The Thyme Garden...is a gift of time...and beauty...and color...and grace.

I made my deposit and five of us made our way up to watch the solar eclipse in their garden.

As we were driving, we left our comfort of continuous cell service...

instant information...24 hour shopping.

We left behind a bustling, busy life and plopped into a garden that was off the grid.

With people who string white fairy lights into trees and on tables...who decorate with flowers...and cook with herbs...people who love the land they live on and who want nothing more than to share it with others.

This open hearted warmth...seems like some sort of illusion, but it is the farthest thing from it.

In fact, for those twenty four hours, it felt exactly the way we are all supposed to live.

Authentic.

Caring.

Loving.

Real.

Rolfe, the visionary behind the Thyme Garden, enthusiastically shared the story of his place and the people behind it. He proudly offered up the home-cooked food that was at once the comfort of home and taste of the exotic...it was totality...

earth's bounty lovingly provided...

in just the right moment.

About 60 people showed up at the Thyme Garden.

Families, some with babies, other who were single, young couples and old couples...able bodied and others who needed support...it didn't matter...

it was totality.

Rolfe, after the litany of delicious treats paused and talked for a moment about the eclipse and the plans around it...and then he looked up and said,

"It's kind of amazing that we are all here for just 57 seconds of totality...

the moon perfectly covering the sun...

a shadow for such a short time...

but I think it's really great."

We all nodded...

it was already pretty great...

a simple shangri-la that reminded us all of the important things:

the gifts of family, friendship, beauty, harmony with nature, and always the food.

The morning dawned blue and still...

a moment in time that was sparkling with expectation.

We all ventured out from our tents with dew on our shoes and huddled together with coffee and the famous local cinnamon rolls.

After our coffee and cinnamon roll, we got ready for nature's show...we joked about our worries about missing it...how much of a deal could it really be...
were we crazy for driving all this way for 57 seconds?

Short answer: no.

Totality is exactly what it says.
100% of the sun is covered by the moon...
miraculously, the sun is 400 times bigger than our moon AND the sun just happens to be 400 times the distance from the moon...they perfectly align when the tilt of the moon is just so...and a million incredible configurations work like cogs in a clock to create the perception of the moon slowly, slowly moving across the surface of the sun to slide in place and cover it...totally.

In those final seconds before it is covered up, the earth is an unusual bluish hue, it's colder - enough to see the frost of your breath in August - and it looks like the sun is putting up a fight...it keeps shining a bright red thin thread until it finally lets go...
into totality.

When that happened...the campers around us cheered.
We joined in.
It was joyous in a mesmerizing way...and then for 57 seconds we could see the corona...
the atmosphere of the sun that is hidden from us earthly mortals every other moment.

For 57 seconds we sat in marvel...awe...wonder...stunned by the beauty and the cosmic perfection of this moment...I found myself crying...looking at my family in their bluish tint...wanting to crystallize the fleeting...and knowing I never could.

The closest thing to understand the ethereal beauty of the moon's shadow is trying to describe a rainbow...almost everyone has seen one...and we know that photos rarely capture the truth of something as magical as a rainbow but still we try...

there was no capturing the corona...
words certainly can't contain it...
my mind's eye holds it clearly and that's why I'm writing so carefully now...

somehow I want to remember the gift of knowing that for 57 seconds it all made sense...
what mattered was that perfect moment,
shared with people you love...
and the rest of the world who took the time to step into the shadow as well.

Totality makes sense in a deep, soulful way.
We are all connected in such a beautiful, sacred, holy way...and with totality, you catch that glimpse.

For tonight, I am grateful for that whisper that told me to go...
for the joyous, gracious hospitality of the Thyme Garden...
and for the celestial magic that is totality.