By KM Huber
The possum’s size was considerable enough that first glance indicated it might be an armadillo but the sheen of its fur, seemingly silken in the moonlight, proved it a possum, and a rather deliberative one at that.
Browsing the ground and grasses, the possum foraged with pause, as if such a night of light was evident even with possum vision. Feline EmmaRose (ER) and I had also been drawn to the moon’s full light, as we often are.
In stillness, ER sits a window sill and I sit abed, watching the possum peruse the moonlight. Contentment reigns on either side of the window.
When the possum finally leaves our viewing area, ER yawns and decides it is time to eat so she, too, leaves the moonlight viewing. And after she eats? Well, that now is not yet here, is it?
Each moment is the new now, a peeling back of another layer of the present, offering an experience all its own. It is the only way ER and the possum know—every moment is its own clean slate, free from what was as well as from what might be. Each moment is its own entity.
This musing in moonlight is familiar but there is something in the light of this night that seems…well, revelatory.
I remember Anita Moorjani explaining that she begins each day by surrendering herself to whatever the day may bring and ends her day by releasing everything she received. Thus, each day is new and her slate is clean every morning.
For some months now I have been a bit in-between, unable to let go of what was in order to immerse myself in what is. In the moonlight, such struggling against time and tide seems silly and without substance.
A cramp in my hand reminds me I am still clinging to my beloved Kodak camera. There are no possum pictures this night nor will there be more images from this aged camera. It works beautifully but I had to replace my laptop, and the camera software is not compatible.
The Kodak recorded the last years of life for two, aging canines; captured five years of life along the Gulf Coast and the occasional snapshot of the Gulf’s horizon; almost, it walked with me through two years of change on Waverly pond. Few objects become dear friends but it is possible, and in the moonlight, I am convinced, yet again, of the sentience of all things.
I suspect every moment is a clean slate but I am not that present and may never be, yet in appreciating that each moment is the new now, I hold onto less and am open to more.
After all, I have watched a possum strolling by the light of the moon.
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KM Huber is a writer who learned Zen from a beagle. She believes the moment is all we ever have, and it is enough. In her early life as a hippie, she practiced poetry, and although her middle years were a bit of a muddle, she remains an overtly optimistic sexagenerian, writing prose. She blogs at kmhubersblog.com, may be followed on Twitter or contacted by email at writetotheranch[at]gmail[dot]com.
© 2013 KM Huber. All content on this page is protected by copyright. If you would like to use any part of this, please contact me at the above links to request permission.
