The Shining Of A Star

I walk an angular path, marked by sharp corners and abrupt turns. At points along the way, I am farthest from the center. Then inward I journey, again, approaching the pentagonal core. When I have walked five triangular rays of the star labyrinth, I enter the final winding circuit to its core, a source of light and transformation.

In scientific terms, the core of a star is a place of thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium, emitting radiance and heat. The sun is the star closest to Earth, creating optimal conditions for life on our planet. Stars outside our solar system are many light-years away, their light traveling trillions of miles through space to reach us. The shining of a star is but a memory that we see.

When I was 8 years old, I asked my mother, “What if we’re really stars in outer space dreaming our lives here on Earth?” My mother, in her wisdom, replied that whether or not we are stars dreaming is a matter of speculation. I learned a new word that day, but more importantly, I experienced a profound sense of mystery. In that moment, I embraced the idea that reality may not be as I perceive it to be.

Later, in my early teens, Carl Sagan (1) confirmed my childhood speculation through his television series, “Cosmos.” He tells us, “The Cosmos is also within us. We are made of star stuff. We are a way the Cosmos can know itself.” Now, as an adult, aware of my cosmic origins in the Big Bang and a supernova that followed, I am, according to Brian Swimme, a self-reflexive aspect of the Universe—the human mind who allows the Universe to know and feel itself. Swimme (2) writes,

“In a sense, you are the star. Look at your hand—do you claim it as your own? Every element was forged in temperatures a million times hotter than molten rock, each atom fashioned in blazing heat of the star. Your eyes, your brain, your bones, all of you is composed of the star’s creations. You are the star, brought into a form of life that enables life to reflect on itself.”

As a child, I made a covenant with mystery (3), believing that reality may not be as I perceive it to be. I carry this awareness with me wherever I go, wherever I am—always awake to the possibility of mystery.

As you contemplate the deeper meaning of this darkest time of year, consider the following verse from a Christmas hymn (4).

Within the shining of a star

we catch a glimpse of who we are;

in every infant born we see

the hope of our nativity.

For all that is,

Starry Night

(1) Sagan, C. (1980). Cosmos. Los Angeles, California: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET).

(2) Swimme, B. (2001). The Universe Is A Green Dragon: A Cosmic Creation Story. Rochester, Vermont: Bear and Company, p. 59.

(3) Goodenough, U. (1998). The Sacred Depths of Nature. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

(4) Lehman, Robert S., lyrics, and Betsy Jo Angebranndt, music, (1992) Within the Shining of a Star, verse 1. Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association.