Always, to the Stars!

I listened to Krista Tippett's program, On Being, this morning. She interviewed Helen Fisher, an anthropologist who studies the wildly unpredictable territory of the brain when we are in love. Fascinating interview, worth a listen. (Helen Fisher Interview)

Helen referenced a Latin phrase that she considers her life motto. Sempre ad Astra. Always, to the Stars. I immediately fell in love with those words.

And so, like most folks these days, I consulted The Google. I found another phrase that had a surprisingly powerful impact on me. Per Aspera ad Astra. Through Adversity to the Stars. 

It's easy for me to hold Sempre ad Astra. It's a powerful image, a rallying call of sorts. To the Stars! Yes!

Per Aspera ad Astra...now that really hit me where I live. Especially considering this time of year, when I feel like I'm climbing out of the winter cave, the Kiva lodge, and blinking my way into the light again. Winter can be such a deep time of turning, of sinking in and listening, of letting go of the old story, turning it into compost. It's a powerful, important time. And...it's not always a lot of fun.

Through Adversity to the Stars. This phrase lands right in my heart. It fills me with a swell of emotion, of hope and love and respect for this journey of life. I believe we are all reaching for the stars. Whatever that means for you. And sometimes the going gets tough. Sometimes, the going seems impossible.

So many in my circle of friends and family have had rough times these past months, from personal physical challenges to the loss of a child. Collectively, there is no lack of trials to tap into. We, as a society, have made an association between those rough times and darkness. Our tendency is to want to escape, to push the dark aside, to get out of it at any cost. Or we deny our "dark" feelings completely. After all...not always a lot of fun, right?

That's why I love Per Aspera ad Astra. Through Adversity to the Stars. I really believe that's the only way we truly get to experience the light. It comes through us, our life experiences, if we live each moment, no matter how "dark" it is, knowing that the light is always there. It lives in the dark, and no person or experience can ever take that away from us. Not ever. 

And so we keep reaching. It's an inner reaching, a willingness to embrace the entirety of who we are. Then it can become an outer reaching, and we can enjoy the reflection of that light as we engage with others. 

When we become conscious of Per Aspera ad Astra, we have access to hope, and love and respect for the journey of that inner reaching. 

So yes - Sempre ad Astra! Always....to the Stars! And yes to honoring the journey we take to get there.

Photo credits:
Top photo - unknown
Stars - Hubble Telescope