It looked like a dark line across the sky at first. One end was pointed, the other was shaped rather like an ornate handle. On slower inspection it was clearly a sword – the kind that people carry on ceremonial occasions. Once upon a time it would have been for killing people. In some parts of the world it still is. But this celestial sword looked peaceful, still, unexcited by surrounding violence and as though it were taking a good rest between bouts of activity. Perhaps a sword to bestow an honour. Perhaps, even, a sword of peace.
We stood and admired it for a while. The sun was slowly setting behind it. A few white clouds shuffled by, dipping their wings in salute as they did so. The sputtering orange disc of the sun winked its weary way towards night. An owl hooted a greeting – or was it a warning? Hard to tell in such silence, it left open the message and meaning of the symbolic scene, allowing us to interpret it as we wished. It invited mindspanning.
I had seen many sunsets in a longish lifetime, of course. Unlike some people I thought of them as positive and invented a soubriquet for them: ‘Sunset – a promise of tomorrow’. LIke everyone I had seen several sad endings on my journey. I always wanted them to be openings to new lessons, to greater joys, rather than door closings on a soon-to-be-forgotten past. Memories, I thought, should live and love, not disappear like an evening cloud.
As the gentle sound of silence replaced the clashing clouds of night, we lifted our eyes to spot a few planets and stars morsecoding their messages of stability. To be able to hear nothing was a rare privilege. The sword – if that is what it was – had gone, assumed into the dusty blank of day’s end. For some it might be considered Journey’s End. I hoped not. Even short lives are long journeys. They deserve a few more turns before they, too, become glistening stars.
I puzzled over the message of the cloud, the sunset, the darkness and the planets. They seemed to have something to say but were reluctant to reveal it. Beauty was beholden but meaning was mystified. What could we learn from such a potpourri? Was our sojourn only a pace along the way or was it a stepping stone to new light?
It took a good half hour to plumb the depths of the experience. Then it became clear.
The message was “What is the message?” – a challenge to an open mind.
Only when our answers are questions have we set our minds mindspanning.
Only then will we know ourselves.
Good morning
John BittlestonIf you have another interpretation please tell us at [email protected].
01 April 2026
