Don’t miss the chance

Dear little brother,

Hope you are keeping well. I tried so many times to call you but could not get through. You must be very busy with your new job. I just wanted to say happy birthday to you before the sun goes down. I also had a very busy day and I really don’t know where the day has gone. Now it is almost midnight and I have to wake up early in the morning to go to work but I am still sitting by the window and looking at the moon.

I knew it was full moon last night and I missed it not because I couldn’t spare a minute in my life to look at the sky but because it was obscured by a thick layer of clouds. I waited and waited for the sky to clear up and finally had to go to bed disappointed. Now the sky is very clear and everything looks so magical. My garden is basking in the glory of moonlight.

Splendid moonbeams scatter over the trees, and leaves glimmer while they are whispering in the gentle breeze. It is absolutely magical and there are no words to describe this picture to you. Looking at this magical painting, I feel so blessed to have my eyes to appreciate the wonders of our beloved Mother Nature. The full moon has started to wane though it still looks like a complete disc.

Before any of the religions were born into this world, it shared one universal religion and one set of rules. In that time Mother Nature was believed to be the universal law and the only religion. Mankind was so aware of her presence and never disobeyed her rules. People worshiped her in many different ways and followed her rules with great respect. Worshiping the moon was one of the ancient rituals because they understood the almightiness of the moon.

They knew the moon was controlling things such as tidal waves but also the human body and mind. Just think why Buddhists believe the Buddha was believed to be born, enlightened and passed away on a full moon day? Ancient people believed the full moon had impact upon physiological and physiological issues from birth to death. So Buddha achieved enlightenment on a full moon as well as being born and dying! Was this a coincidence? If the enlightenment is a supreme state of mind couldn’t we believe the full moon had some kind of impact upon the Buddha’s enlightenment?

We still use the word ‘lunatic’ to sometimes describe insane people. Luna means moon, so it gives us a link between the state of mind and the moon even though insanity is a relative factor.

If I am going to write to you about the moon, I wouldn’t be able to finish this letter until the sun rises and I will lose the divine opportunity to appreciate the almighty moon shining so peacefully. From the day we came into this world until we go six feet under or turn into ashes we will never have countless nights to see and appreciate the beauty and the majesty of the full moon. The moon goes through 28 stages to become mature until it becomes what we call a full moon and then it starts to wane. Literally speaking we have got only one night to see the moon in its full performance. In this scenario we can see the full moon once in 28 days and less than 13 times a year. Considering these numbers I made a very simple mathematical calculation to find out how many full moon nights we have got left to appreciate before we close our eyes for ever.

Mind you, this is not absolutely accurate as this is not based on the Luna calendar. You have to imagine you will be living up to a hundred years though not many of us will be that lucky but just be optimistic to make this calculation easy. Now deduct your age from it. Then you will get how many more years you have left to live. Then multiply that number by 13 times.

Then you will find how many full moon nights you have got left before you die and it will not be too many. Unfortunately we will never be lucky enough to see all the numbers of full moon we have got left to see, for far too many reasons; there might be a Luna eclipse or thick clouds in our way to make it oblivious to us.

Still there might be no obstacles but we might be too busy to look at the sky or our health might stand across our way. Most of all remember this number is accurate only if we live up to a one hundred years!

I think life is about living, living a full life not a half. For me it is about appreciating what we have got now and not we might have in the future. We all work to live not live to work (some people probably do…!), to have a better life. Whilst we head towards this ‘going to have a better life tomorrow’ dream, we lose so many wonderful things just because we had no time to appreciate them today.

Now I tick off one of the most simple and remarkable moments of my life before I go to bed. I am so pleased to have this divine moment and understand why some people still worship the moon.

You must be sleeping right now or having a big discussion with your colleagues about your forthcoming book launch. Probably having a grand birthday party! I wish I had one minute of your life with me here, for you to grasp the peaceful beauty of the moon on your birthday. Happy birthday again!

Lots of love
Yours
Big Brother
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