12.05.2006

 

On an ellipitical orbit with a 33-year period, it was first observed in 1865 and again in 1866. The comet Tempel-Tuttle roared through the solar system, leaving behind a trail of debris by this grand cosmic lamplighter.

​

Even though astronomers searched for it in 1899 and again in 1932, Tempel-Tuttle was not seen again until 1965. It was rediscovered in 1997, as it passed between the Sun and the Earth once again. 

​

Many don't know that the comet Tempel-Tuttle is the parent body of the Leonid meteor shower. And what is the Leonid meteor shower?

The Leonid meteor shower occurs each year when the Earth moves through the meteoroid stream of particles left from the passages of the comet Tempel-Tuttle. This shower, normally exhibits around 10-20 meteors per hour over a period of six or seven days, with the peak occurring on November 17 of every year. However, every 33 years, more dramatic displays tend to be observed as Tempel-Tuttle races through our solar system once again, leaving behind its galactic bread crumb trail...

 

From cosmic lamplighters to earthen sorjourners, the basic premise remains the same: the effects of actions never fully go unnoticed or unfelt. Just like the cosmic trail left behind by Tempel-Tuttle, you roar through your day as well - leaving behind a trail of wonderful encounters or of havoc and emotional destruction. It is for you to decide. We are social creatures by nature and are greatly and subtlely impacted by each encounter we have with another, each day of the week. When you arrive home at the end of the day, you are the cumulative combination of all your encounters and the process by which you filtered those encounters. How about an example?

​

 

A man leaves his home in the morning, after having a brief argument with his wife. The source of their argument? Their inability to balance their schedules in their fast paced life. Without any significant resolution, he leaves home - and a few minutes late for work. He sits behind a vehicle that takes a few extra seconds at an intersection, after the light turns green. He cruises the parking lot of his work establishment for an extra minute as there are very few parking spots available. He rushes through his mundane morning appointments, never quite "getting ahead" of his schedule. At lunch, he rushes to the local department store and encounters you in an aisle, where you are simply trying to pass one another in this narrow aisle. Bumping each other, he utters a derogatory word and continues on his way. You reflect on the encounter later in your vehicle but can't understand why he would say what he did to you - it upsets you and you head home...

​

What you are completely unaware of in this situation:

• is the argument that lit the man's emotional fuse for the day; 

• is the person in the vehicle paused at the intersection is distracted as she was informed over the past week that she has an inoperable cancer; 

• is the parking lot is full as a number of employees arrived early so as to celebrate the passage of retirement of one of their beloved fellow colleagues; 

• is a number of the man's "mundane" morning appointments were helping clients develop their Last Will and Testament; one for a man who has had to make the painful decision to move into an assisted living center due to his health and one for a couple whose wife is dying of an inoperable cancer (the same woman at the intersection) 

And there are millions of other forces and encounters occurring throughout this man's morning journey that go undetected, just prior to meeting you in that department store. And what of your encounters leading up to that moment as well? This man had the chance to "light the lamps" (encourage and touch the spirit, lighten the heart) of so many individuals in his morning trek, but he chose to be dominated by his emotions of a fast paced life. And his elliptical journey, as well as yours, continues each day.

​

We leave behind a trail, a wake of experiences and encounters with which so many unsuspecting individuals will collide and bombard. It is your choice, as it is for each of us, to decide the trail you leave behind. Will it be a wake of emotional destruction, hurt feelings and misunderstandings? Or will it be the sweet fragrance of compassion, understanding and warmth that will wash over others?

​

It is small solar system out there - enough to annually collide with the thin trail left behind by Tempel-Tuttle. And it's an even smaller world down here - it's so thick with lamplighters, you can't help but take one step and bump into another's very soul. Make it a powerful and productive step, my friend.