The full moon eclipsed before disappearing behind clouds in a predawn sky. It reminded me of the vast and quiet universe and how small our lives are in comparison.
I like to think we are somewhat important. Not so important that people would start saying how much we suck. But more than a piece of animate dust in the universe. Somewhere in between.
Looking for a while, I went inside and got about the day.
It’s been a dry March and El Niño has begun.
“A drier March and a drier first one-quarter year was last recorded in 1994,” said Harry Hillaker, state climatologist. “Much of Iowa, the upper Midwest, and the central and northern plains states have been very dry over the past five or six months.”
The good news this year is above average precipitation is expected during the first year of El Niño. We’ll see what happens. The second year is expected to be drier.
My work at the warehouse included a shift near the floral display. I could have spent the whole day watching women choose cut flowers. Tulips were popular. Young girls favored inexpensive, colorful bouquets. One can’t but wonder what lived behind the looks, gestures and touches as bouquets left with them. I noticed many adult women wore a pair of sunglasses on top of their head. They say it was sunny outside.
Tomorrow is Easter.
The sign at the Catholic Church proclaimed, “He is Risen!” When it comes to the risen Lord, I don’t believe that any more.
I believe in redemption.
It is hard to believe we can be redeemed from the sins and errors of our lives. There is a god and we fall short of his standards. We are sinners and it would be surprising for a deity to redeem our transgressions. It would deprive us of our humanity. Redemption must come in another form.
Each of us wants to go on living. Some may despair, but if I believe anything, it is in the persistent desire to go on living on Earth. To go on living, something is required of us.
Wanting, we reach for tomorrow, never to touch it. If that’s all we do with our lives, we are lost to a fate worse than eternal damnation. Deliverance will come by releasing tomorrow in favor of today.
Relief to isolation caused by an eclipsing moon; hope like cut flowers blooming briefly before the compost.
We shall be released of our mortal debt too soon. If we are lucky, not before we go on living—here and now.
Journey Home 
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