Lady of the Night

I'm somewhat of a Lady of the Night. A true professional, but not THAT kind. As a massage therapist, I work a lot of late evenings because clients need to get in after their work day...which extends mine. I don't really mind. I made my choice. Work by "The Man's" hours and rules or work by mine. Being a "woman," I chose mine.

So, it's about 9 p.m. as I pull into the driveway. Dragging my duffel bag full of soiled linen to the washer, like a dead body, I stop a moment on the pathway and look up to the frosty, November sky. Crikey! It's getting cold in the evenings now! The sky always looks different to me in the colder part of the year than the warmer. Don't know why, to me, it just does. Clearer, maybe. Sharper.

Heck, right then and there, I plop my tired glutes down to sit on that soft, body of sheets. Shiver-upon-shiver ripple across my human landscape, but still, I sit, mesmerized by the belt of Orion. The damp coolness of the earth rising up around me. Knees bent. Elbows on knees. Arms crossed and folded across each other. Neck extended back. Eyes pointing to the black sky, sparkly stars pointing back to mine, I contemplate.

And it hits me. We are all occupying the surface of this massive rock that is traveling at enormous speeds through space. There are billions of other rocks, smaller and bigger, flying around just like we are. Just waiting to hit us. Or we hit them. Or whatever! Something WILL hit something...eventually! We ride around on the outside of our planet waiting, like a jouster about to be knocked off his horse by his opponent, for our turn. One big smack and we're all goners. Maybe it would be safer if we could somehow ride inside the Earth for some protection. But, NO! The Earth's core is a huge fire ball of raging, molten Hell.

Earthlings are carried around the sun, another massive fire ball, at nearly 67,000 mph. 670,000 miles per hour! At the same time, the Earth is spinning nearly 1000 mph at the equator. So fast it causes our planet to bulge. Our entire solar system, including Pluto which is no longer considered a planet like it was when I was in school, is buzzing around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, at nearly 560,000 mph. Our galaxy is moving in respect to other galaxies. And maybe, just maybe, the entire universe is moving too.

Did you know that, #3 on Top Ten Ways to Destroy the Earth is: The Earth is pulverized by impact with blunt instrument. Feasibility rating: 7/10.

Or, something hits us and Earth is Hurled into the Sun, the #1 way for Earth to be destroyed. Feasibility rating: 9/10.

And, maybe even scarier, there are folks who spend time making these feasibility ratings.

I think I've just discovered the source of my, albeit occasional, free-floating, can't-put-my-finger-on-it anxiety.

Maybe we spend too much time worrying about all the wrong stuff. Spend too much time in self-analysis, self-absorption and introspection. Too much time debasing ourselves and others for our lacks and losses. Too much time thinking we can't have this or do that. Maybe just staying on the ride without getting bucked off is good enough. Yep, probably plenty good enough for me. I wonder what the feasibility rating is that I won't have to have to fold all this laundry?