Sonder | Eclipse

Today is a special day. It is a day to reflect. A day to remember that everything we are, everything we know, everyone we’ve ever met, every animal, every breath of air, every memory, emotion, success, and failure has taken place on this planet.

In just a few hours, the moon will cross in front of the sun. The sky will darken, and the temperature will drop. And we’re all going to look up.

Let the moment strip away all of your accomplishments, titles, wrongs, and rights, all of your fortune or lack thereof, all of your shame and guilt, beliefs and differences, dreams and desires, opinions and disagreements, and simply be human.

Each week, I write these stories hoping to remind us how similar and connected we really are and how our dogs can be one small reflection of the greatest parts of ourselves—especially on the days when we need them most.

So I thought it fitting when I saw NASA named its Spotify playlist for the eclipse “Sonder,” which is defined as “The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it.”

Today, when we look up as the moon crosses in front of the sun, let’s use it as a time to reflect on the most important things in life: love, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion, etc., and view the inspiring four minutes of solar beauty as a tangible representation of those important aspects of life we could not fathom living without. Let it be a moment to sonder.