While the northern skies were lighting up with spectacular colours a couple of weeks ago, I was having quite a powerful green aura myself. Seeing the Aurora Borealis has been on my bucket list for as long as I have owned a bucket. So, as much as I loved seeing the pictures online, I will admit to being more than a tad jealous that so many people were just casually living my dream.
"Feel like a small adventure?" Andrew asked on that Sunday evening. I agreed without knowing exactly what he was suggesting. I had been dragging my feet, in a slumped sort of May Month way (apparently I am not the only one who finds May difficult!!) Andrew had read that Australia, at 32 degrees south, had had some good sightings of the Southern Lights, so Cape Town at 34 degrees might, just might, have the privilege of a show. I was all in. We thought that at 10pm it would be properly dark, so we bundled into the car, Andrew and O with tripods and cameras, K and me with enthusiasm and warm jerseys. We drove out past Millers Point, beyond the city lights.
Nothing. Except a clear darkness.
But it wasn't the let down it could have been. The sky was beautiful. The sound of the sea was gentle and all of a sudden the world seemed possible again. I didn't need a spectacular show or a once in a lifetime occasion. The quiet stillness of the moment was more than sufficient. It was an important mind shift for me.
Andrew took some creative, beautiful photos, using the tripod and a long exposure. Here is one:
I love this image. But the thing is - this isn't what was visible to me with the naked eye. It was just black skies and water out there. I began to realize that the photos posted in the media might just be long exposure too - who knows - that made the colours seem more extraordinary through the lens than to the people who were just gazing up. There were some lovely pictures taken the night before at Gansbaai, a small coastal village about 160km from Cape Town. So maybe if we had tried the night before....
My aura reduced to a mild mint colour instead of the violent green. Beauty is where we find it, and even if we are looking for something spectacular, the ordinary can be awe inspiring too.
There are plenty of other items on my bucket list, and the Northern lights has just slipped down a couple of places in the wish order. I don't really need to see them anymore.
Now if I can just sort out my May maladies...
