Shortly after I took this picture of the setting sun, I looked higher in the sky to see a fine silver sliver bending halfway around the speckled and darkened orb of the Moon. I knew better than to reach for my camera to try to capture that image. The Moon is slippery when cornered. I have tried hundreds of times to catch her. The best case is simply an unsatisfactory reminder of the time and place. Why? Why is the Moon so hard to capture?
She is predictable. We know when and where she will be. We might not always be able to see her, but we know she is there. If we are open, we can feel her pulling at the tides of our spirit. She reminds us when to start anew and when to let go. She marks the time to plant and the time to harvest. She is obsessive in her routine.
The Moon is nurturing. The Moon is healing. The Moon encourages the use of intuition and creative problem-solving. Maybe the Moon is beautiful when we spend time with her; when we pay close attention to her. Is it impossible to capture the Moon in an image because it is an experience rather than a moment in time?
Maybe part of the magic of the Moon is the fact that she can’t be captured. Maybe her beauty is her evasive nature. Her freedom might be why she is beautiful.
When I was little, I wanted to be a ballerina. Later I chose to be an artist. Now, I long to be the Moon.