Sometimes you really are in the right place at the right time, as we northern Vermonters found ourselves to be on April 8: right in The Path of Totality. As much as I thought I knew everything there was to know about seeing a solar eclipse, it proved otherwise, just mind blowing really. And there really is no way to describe the totality of the experience, it is just too staggeringly extraordinarily awesome (in the truest of that word’s definition). The whole 360 experience of changing light, the temperature drop, the suddenly visible planets Jupiter and Venus, the chatter of bird song, and of course The Dark Side of the Moon that seemed to be playing from everyone’s speakers. Totally cool.

Thanks to the accuracy of astronomers we knew exactly what time to be facing west, and also thankful that we had the retina-protective-eyewear with which to view the moon’s slow progress across the sun, watching the chunks of the brilliance be bitten away into darkness, and then on the other side, growing back to the golden orb we all rely on for all our living down here on Earth.

Burlington prepared in so many ways, doing its best to create public viewing areas, educate the public, and support artists who might be interested in expressing their excitement about the event. They were smart to be ready for “Preliminary estimates put the number of eclipse visitors at 160,000,” (Vermont Public). This might not seem to overwhelming, except that is about 26% of our state’s overall population. I am fortunate enough to be part of large scale curated exhibit of over 50 artists, “The Total Eclipse of the Art,” at The Vaults with my painting “Galaxy.”

My Instagram account has been blowing up with all the reminders that there is no better time than this eclipse time for Awakening & Rising Consciousness… the list of transcendent possibility is lofty they all proclaim. Who am I to disagree with a potent cosmic event that will most certainly send us all on the path to transform our lives in the most radical of ways? I’ll take all the newness revolutionizing life and taking us on a wild ride! Just about now I imagine that to be a win-win, especially if it means bringing forth a woman-centered reaction to the archaic ruling in Arizona. Do those stuffy rear-facing politicians know the fury they have unleashed?

I for one am ready for the celestial journey, even though I can’t be sure where I might land.

***Photo credit goes to @mjbouvier who always capture the best of our living