Random Thoughts on a Full-Moon Night

After dinner tonight, I went out of the house to find a beautiful full moon in the night sky. Immediately, random thoughts filled my mind; some good, some utterly corny. I believe you can forgive me for being corny on a night the moon lords over the darkness of the night sky.

One of the advantages of living in the suburbs away from the glare of city lights and its pollution is being able to observe the magnificence of a full moon. Even as I write, I look outside and find the streets covered with a silver filament of light. It is so beautiful.

When I was still in college, I used to pass by a lake on my way home, and on nights when the moon is at its brightest, it casts a reflection on the lake. It never failed to make me sigh. I always made sure I sat on the side of the bus facing the lake every time I went home on a night like that, just to see the sight.

 

I sometimes imagine our ancestors stepping out of their homes and looking up to see a moon so round and bright it must have seemed like a giant silver lantern hanging in the night sky. Did it frighten them? Or did its light bring them together, gathered in circles, sharing stories and passing down memories beneath that same glowing moon?

Young Filipino lovers of old probably met in secret and whispered sweet nothings while illuminated by a silver disk in the sky, but covered by the shadows of trees and plants that capture some of the light.

Or did the Katipuneros meet under the moonlight as they planned their revolution to free us from our colonial masters? 

On several occasions, I find myself staring at the full moon and wonder whether this is the same moon that looks down on my friends and loved ones in distant places. I wonder whether they, just like me, are staring at the moon, struck by its beauty as it floats silently above us.

 

Such is the power of a full moon over me that it pulls emotions I don’t always admit to, making me say things I’d normally keep tucked away. But as I’ve said before, anyone can be forgiven for becoming sentimental when faced with a moon like that, steady, luminous, and somehow able to stir memories and longings we thought we’d outgrown.

Even though man has already been to the moon and discovered that it’s really just a cold, desolate place, it still fascinates me. In this age of the internet, wireless communication, and globalization, I still feel like the moon will always be a source of inspiration for people like me.