The Solar Eclipse was one to be remembered. No matter where you were in the U.S.A. there was a sense of awe, intrigue, and curiosity. Millions watched on T.V. or outside, with special glasses, as the moon passed in front of the sun. I took pictures, videos, and then decided to put down the camera to take in the moment. After the peak time hit where I’m located, I got some time to myself, and immediately some specific words came to mind. Solidarity, peace, and equality. These are the words that ring out to me as I am typing this during lunch, after viewing perhaps to some a “once in a lifetime event”. America is another word that pops in mind. These last few days, months, and years have been a struggle for many. Issues plaguing our country are affecting many directly and indirectly. You can’t help turning on the news or checking your latest social media status and not see videos, articles, or comments about protest, riots, rallies, and/or hateful comments. Yet here we are August 21st, 2017 and I see everybody in one accord. No news on statues being torn down, Nazis marching, people screaming, fighting, or news about hate. People of different colors, nationality, and heritage came together today enjoying life. I drove past a packed park, watched people on tv at stadiums and in fields, and shared a roof top with others that in each case included a mixture of different races. Today we’ve come together as one race, humans. One goal in common to watch God’s amazing creation do what it does best, leave us in Awe! Funny that it took an event spanning from coast to coast in the USA to bring us together or at least have us at peace for a moment. For people to be able to come together to watch an event shows we are all a part of something amazing and should remind us we have ALL been created equal. It was honestly a cool time to watch on the news people cheering as totality reached certain states. Of course, I should be realistic as I know there was probably some issues somewhere happening at the time of the eclipse. For the most part, no news channels showed anything other than the eclipse, no separate agendas or views, no social media post about hate or politics, and no hateful comments. These moments show what America can be when hate, prejudice, stereotypes, and racism isn’t a factor. Do I think those things will ever go away, honestly no. I do however believe we can bring a major shift of love to decline all the hate that is trying to arise. The solar eclipse was an awesome and beautiful event to behold. Though I wasn’t in the path of totality during the eclipse, I did witness how America can come together in totality and solidarity. There will always be problems, obstacles, and issues that we will face personally and as a country, but for these couple of hours America was one. This will be my continued prayer for my country as we work to build something better. Hopefully by the next Solar Eclipse in 2024 we will have that change we’re striving to be.
America’s Solar Eclipse 2017
