It has been a warm winter’s day, but when the sun sinks below the horizon, the temperature drops sharply. The sudden cold is quite a shock. The moon rises proudly over the moor inviting us to see the world through a different light. Places that were bright and encouraging in the day-light become moody and forbidding in the moon-light. Night, with its shadows, phantoms and alien noises, will soon be here. Yet the moonlight brings with it stark contrasts and a haunting beauty.
The landscape with which I am familiar in the warmth of the day, looks different in the cool of twilight. It’s as though I have journeyed to a new land – but I am in the same place. I look afresh at my surroundings. I begin to see through different eyes and I am uplifted by what I see. The hills look softer and the distant trees, which were blown bare weeks ago, look like leaves lying flat against the sky. I had not been aware of the beauty and calmness of this time of day.
When the noise of our day has subsided and calm descends, we can look afresh at what is around us. We can see our relationships and our personal journey through the past and into the present through different eyes. We cannot change what has happened in the past, but we can look at it differently. Looking at the past differently opens up new ways to live in the present and to journey into the future.
Contemplating Exmoor – Gallery
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Bishop Brian Castle 