One and the stars

I spent Monday the 12th of August disassembling the main stage of Jurassic rock. I was already quite worn out from almost a week of working at the festival and before the end of the long day there were a bit too many slips and close calls. The work itself was rewarding, however, and the co-workers some of the best I know. Even at times when the skies ruptured with pouring rain and thunder and we were soaking wet, the air was filled with bad jokes and hysterical laughter.

When the workday finally drew to a close, we ventured to the shoreside sauna to enjoy some beverages and relax in the warmth of the löyly. Spirits were high, jokes were shared and songs of black humor sung. Later in the night, as I was going swimming, I noticed that all the dark clouds of rain and thunder had dissipated, leaving the late summer sky clear and filled with stars. This was something I had hoped for, because that very night held something special in store for the observant ones.

As I floated in the calm waters of lake Saimaa, straining to spread my field of vision as wide as it could go, I took in the millions of stars and planets shining across the vast gulfs of emptiness that we call space. At times, this grand fabric was painted upon by the comet Swift-Tuttle's tail particles, which left fine white lines as they burned their way through our atmosphere.

There I was, a fluke of probabilities, a tiny, semi-conscious blob of stardust, floating, breathing and witnessing a celestial event, the Perseids. The universe is vast and we are blind and deaf to most of it's beauty. Let us enjoy the fraction that we are able to sense during our brief visit.

Thoughts such as these make me return to a band that explores the what-ifs and maybes of the universe through songs inspired by science fiction films: Star One.