The Eclipse!

I actually wrote this post last week when i was at the Airport in Korea heading back to America, but it got deleted when my connection was suddenly severed. So let's try again. Here goes. . .

The trip back to Amami was one of reunions for me. I lived there for a year between 2002 and 2003. It is called the Galopogas of Asia because of it's many unique species that are unique only to the Amami Islands. The Amami Black Rabbit, the Lidthe's Jay, the Amami Thrush, and the Austin's Woodpecker are all animal species that can only be found in Amami and some of it's neighboring islands. So it is a somewhat mystical place to watch an eclipse.

I met a very interesting man with a unique name of Jonathan Human on the ferry to Amami. He is a music producer and artist, and he invited me to join him at the party in Kasari where approximately 2,000 of the 6,000 visitors of Amami were staying to watch the eclipse.

I had other ideas though. I wanted to see it by myself. A friend of mine had done some scouting around the north part of the island and found a beach that she thought might go unused during the eclipse. She turned out to be right. I stayed that night on the beach, made a small campfire, cooked some fish, potatoes, and eggplant on the fire, and enjoy the general quiet of having this beautiful beach all to myself. I also managed to see a sea turtle while snorkeling.

In the morning, I woke up, went for a quick swim and had a meditation on the beach. Right before the eclipse was set to start, I cooked up some hard boiled eggs and had them as a small meal with bread and roasted sweet potatoes from the night before. eating simple things cooked by my own hands made for such a nice peaceful feeling.

When the eclipse did happen, I was able to see a partial covering of the sun, but then the clouds rolled in and I missed the corona and the full eclipse. But it was very dark. It was the darkness found just before night, and there was an eerie silence as all the animals, birds and insects stopped making noise all at once. The silence was very moving. It was the kind of silence that makes you feel one with the universe. A lone butterfly floated across the sky.

So even though, I did not get to see the full eclipse, I felt blessed to be able to experience such perfect silence and also to be able to meet with all my friends from before. It will be a memory that will stay in my heart forever.

I hope you all were able to see it from one vantage point or another. If not, there is always 2012, where there will be a smaller one in Japan again.

Until next time. . .