Ring around the moon

Heavy, heavy dew this morning. I am told that means a fine day ahead. Ring around the moon last night. I am told that means rain. Even nature is confused!

I couldn’t quite make out whether the ring was a dark rainbow or light smog. Smog is not common out here, though surely not impossible. It gets around, as most airborne things do. For the moment, it brings to mind standing on the northwestern tip of the Iberian Peninsula and seeing a thick band of smog from one end of my vista to the next. Just hovering over the ocean, like a wall. Across the Atlantic lay the US; somewhere, quite a distance to the north, the UK sat doing its thing; and to our right, hundreds of miles out of view, was the west coast of France. Nothing anywhere nearby to account for this golden-brown band across the water - nothing but our knowledge of geography.

At the time I saw this strip of smog, I was mortified. It was proof-positive of our destruction of the planet, of our interference with nature. On nature’s behalf, I was outraged at my fellow man for allowing this to happen.

Today, a brown-stained ring around the moon doesn’t have quite the same impact on me. A while ago I realized it is all nature. If it is composed of atoms, it must be nature. It just isn’t the way I used to think nature should look. Maybe today I’m not so arrogant to assume that I know what nature should look like. Maybe today I’m not so arrogant as to make life on Earth my business.

And because I like to have life around me, I will continue to do my best to preserve it. I’m just less inclined these days to disdain those around me who have other priorities.