Lessons from a Solar Eclipse

For anyone who’s tuned out the media lately, there was a total solar eclipse that passed from coast to coast in the United States yesterday. While there have been other solar eclipses viewable from the US, this was the first time in nearly a century that every person in the country had the opportunity to view at least a partial eclipse.

Which meant some extensive mayhem for those states experiencing totality.

As we lived less than a hundred miles from totality, we made plans to travel a bit north into the shadow’s full path. Thankfully James has a good number of contacts around the state and arranged our camp in a coworker’s backyard. How lucky we were, as the public spaces in totality were experiencing 20,000+ visitors!

And so, much to be learned from the day. Several ideas struck me:

1. Get there early. When roads that handle approximately 1,000 cars a day suddenly have 1,000+ cars an hour, things get hinky fast. While I’m not a good morning person, I knew it would be worth seeing the 4 o’clock hour to get a head start on the traffic.

Which got me thinking…what other events do I find myself at that I end up rushing to be on time? Yoga classes, staff meetings, family events, I can name quite a few. If I treated each of those with the importance of arriving early as I did with the solar eclipse event, how would that change my relationship with the event and the people in it? I’ll think on this (and experiment a bit) and let you know what I learn.

2. Turn off the technology and enjoy the view. Experiencing a solar eclipse is considered a once in a lifetime opportunity (unless you become so enamored you become a “shadow chaser”). Totality lasts minutes, and the view during totality is beyond description. The sky darkens, the horizon flaunts a 360 degree sunset, and there is a split second of the “diamond ring” effect before the sun disappears completely and the undulating corona becomes visible. The energy changes: wavelengths of light we don’t typically experience meet our eyes, the wind picks up as the temperature drops. Even animals notice the shift. If you have access to a telescope with the proper filter, solar flares are visible.

It is so tempting to snap and video each moment of the event. While I did have my camera set up with a carbon filter over the lens, when it came to the totality, I stood back and watched. I don’t regret that moment. We become so attached to the technology available to us we sometimes forget to just experience. Turning off the technology and allowing the full event to prevail keeps it in memory far longer than viewing through a device.

3. Sometimes taking the long way home is more efficient. I’ll be honest, after experiencing totality, going back to even the 99% was a bit blasé. So our group packed up and started home. Now, one of the logistical conundrums of this particular solar eclipse was that it landed on a Monday. People traveling to the strip of totality started trickling in Thursday evening, more Friday, and throughout the weekend. The day travelers descended upon the state Monday morning.

And then they all went home on Monday afternoon.

It was incredible. The population of our state was estimated to have doubled, and now everyone was leaving. We decided to try some country back roads, going out of our own way to get home. With that decision, a trip that on an average day takes about 90 minutes took us two and a half hours.

Several friends reported their two-hour journey lasted eight hours.

With all the new adventures happening in my life, sometimes I feel like I’m always taking the back roads. Sometimes I wonder if I’d stayed on the more conventional track if I’d be moving faster, further.

Driving home after the eclipse I realized that sometimes the slow, scenic route is actually more efficient. You get to keep moving (really beats standstill), plus you learn and see things along the way you might have missed taking the fast route.

Slow and steady definitely won this experience.

#nothingispermanent #astronomy