Dwell on the beauty of life...

Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

In many ways, we have lost contact with the wonder of the stars. We are spending our time planning ways to conquer outer space in order to better understand. In the process, perhaps we are destroying the power and magic that comes with the contemplation of the mysteries of the universe.

The Navajo thought of the stars as friendly beings. They believed the laws by which they should live were written in the patterns of the stars and used their star-watching skills to know when to hunt, when to plant and when to harvest. The stars took center stage in their healing rituals.

Arianrhod holds a significant position in Celtic mythology as the goddess of the stars and the concept of reincarnation. She represents the primordial force of feminine power.

The Greeks thought the stars were the homes of bright spirits who once had lived on Earth. In fact, they often spoke as if the stars were the spirits themselves. In the northern sky were seven bright stars that have been admired for thousands of years. They believed the stars were fixed, except for the planets, which they called ‘wanderers’.

The Romans believed the night sky illuminated their destiny, practicing divination through zodiac signs and horoscopes. Until the 17th century, there wasn't the distinction we see today between astrology and astronomy.

For Ancient Egyptians, the death of a king had a strong connection to the stars. They believed once a king was deceased, their soul would rise to the heavens and become a star. The Pyramid Texts describe the king ascending and becoming the Morning Star among the Imperishable Stars of past kings.

The Babylonians believed that the Universe was divided into six levels with three heavens, the topmost being a “heaven of stars” which the gods used to communicate with them. The planets of our solar system, which were believed to be the brightest “stars” in the night sky, were most important to them.

The Arabic constellations were traditionally used by Bedouin travelers who needed to cross long distances over land, especially the Silk Road trade route.

The Composers’ Forum put out a call several years ago for musicians to compose a setting of a folk tale. I chose Tanabata, also known as the Star Festival (星祭り, Hoshimatsuri), a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. This is a story of the legend about two stars, Altair and Vega, in the constellations Aquila and Lyra. In this legend, two people are joined together in love but separated by the stars.

Using an existing text, I created music that would enhance, not overpower the text. I also dug out my wonderful, thick japanese brushes and ink as black as night, and began to paint on a white dinner plate in my kitchen, filming as I went along. This was the result.

On July 7, The weaving girl star, Vega, and the oxherd boy star, Altair, meet across the silver river - The Milky Way.

We live and learn by stories - bedtime stories, myths and legends, bible, ghost, family stories - all teaching us truths about life on earth; about ways to live and love and treat one another.

There is much comfort and consolation to be found in the stars. Antoine Saint-Exupéry’s wise Little Prince told many stories and taught many truths. When the prince knew he was about to depart for his home planet, he offered this consolation to the heartsick pilot who did not want to lose him and his glorious laugh.

                       All men have the stars… but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For other they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For [my] businessman they were wealth. But all these stars are silent. You — you alone — will have the stars as no one else has them… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content to have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure… and your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky!

Let’s all slow down and look up!