Stars forever....
Are we stars? Are we constellations? A friend of mine asked me this question while he was lying on a hammock, under a bright starry sky on a beautiful white beach in Goa. I told him that we actually were stars. And that all of us could be found in the firmament if someone looked long enough, or tried hard enough to spot the others.
But this got me wondering. Are we actually stars? Those bright twinkling objects in the sky that continue twinkling no matter what has happened. Can human beings actually turn into stars, after they have given up their bodily form? It seems so tough to understand that how a person can continue twinkling like one. Someone who has lived a long life, been through a lot, has experienced a lot, and who, by the end of his/her life, is full of negativity, condescension, anger, hatred, greed, envy, and all the other negative attributes that life throws one’s way. Are human beings capable of lightening the darkness of the sky? Are they capable of smiling and glowing even when the universe around them is so mysterious and foreboding? Are they capable of burning bright, putting behind their own sorrows and numerous selfish thoughts, merely to light up the lives of some other children or people?
I have always gazed up in immense wonder at stars. They have awed me since the time I was a three-year-old girl, when my father pointed out Venus to me. Technically speaking, Venus is not a star, but a planet, although it is the brightest object in the night sky. But then the millions of pin pricks glowing brightly above me made me gape and think.
And now when I was asked, I could not answer. Only hope in vain that we do become stars. Finally. For eternity. And maybe then we can stay on and on forever, in the hearts and minds of those who love us. And can spot us when they gaze up at the velvety darkness of the sky. As my friend philosophically said, "If we are stars and constellations, maybe we will last forever."
But this got me wondering. Are we actually stars? Those bright twinkling objects in the sky that continue twinkling no matter what has happened. Can human beings actually turn into stars, after they have given up their bodily form? It seems so tough to understand that how a person can continue twinkling like one. Someone who has lived a long life, been through a lot, has experienced a lot, and who, by the end of his/her life, is full of negativity, condescension, anger, hatred, greed, envy, and all the other negative attributes that life throws one’s way. Are human beings capable of lightening the darkness of the sky? Are they capable of smiling and glowing even when the universe around them is so mysterious and foreboding? Are they capable of burning bright, putting behind their own sorrows and numerous selfish thoughts, merely to light up the lives of some other children or people?
I have always gazed up in immense wonder at stars. They have awed me since the time I was a three-year-old girl, when my father pointed out Venus to me. Technically speaking, Venus is not a star, but a planet, although it is the brightest object in the night sky. But then the millions of pin pricks glowing brightly above me made me gape and think.
And now when I was asked, I could not answer. Only hope in vain that we do become stars. Finally. For eternity. And maybe then we can stay on and on forever, in the hearts and minds of those who love us. And can spot us when they gaze up at the velvety darkness of the sky. As my friend philosophically said, "If we are stars and constellations, maybe we will last forever."
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