Sweet friends,

This quote I saw online the other day has been blowing my mind:

“Every single person who’s ever lived has looked at this same moon. Like someone in the 1800s saw it and thought “maybe tomorrow will be better.” and now, so do you”

And look, I know it’s obvious in present day that I’m looking at the same moon as my friends in California, my family in India, my colleagues in Australia.

But something about this quote has been running through my mind lately:
when work is hard and I’m overwhelmed,
when I’m sick and curled up in bed,
when I’m driving with the windows down at 7 AM to get to the farmers market before 8 so I can grab a bouquet of flowers for my mom before they sell out
(this was my morning today, by the way).

🌕 A Moon That Belongs to Everyone

This is the kind of quote that makes you feel very small, yet also deeply connected to something bigger than yourself. I have blogged about being under the stars, but looking at the moon feels different somehow. It feels like you’re sharing the moment with someone centuries ago, maybe someone who felt as much awe, and as much hope, and someone just as human.

The other day I was driving to my apartment from my parent’s house and the moon was HUGE and so close (yes, I know that the moon doesn’t actually change sizes, I do remember our unit about the night sky in 3rd grade), but it was surreal. Of course, no half-blurry photo taken one-handed while driving could do it justice. So I did what anyone would do: I called my mom immediately and said, “Oh my god, go outside, and look at the moon, it’s beautiful!!”

But every single children’s book, poem, piano piece, folktale, short story, painting about the moon are all about the same beautiful moon that we see (almost) every day. Entire cultures and holidays are built around the lunar/solar calendar. The moon is always there, seen by everyone from ancient kings to farmers, from lonely lovers to astronauts.

The moon doesn’t change much. It’s been up there — more or less the same — since long before there were telescopes or city lights or phones we point at the sky. It has watched over every civilization, every heartbreak, every revolution. It was there when ancient Egyptians built temples, when poets in Tang Dynasty sipped wine beneath its glow, when soldiers in World War I huddled in trenches and wrote letters home. And it’s here now, still showing up in the window like an old friend who doesn’t need to knock.

I’m a big shooting star person — I love making wishes. I’ve never really made a wish on the moon, but sometimes I wonder how many people, in how many languages, have whispered wishes to it.

A direct quote from my blog three years ago was about going outside at midnight to look at the lunar eclipse: “And I proceed to stare at it for another 5 minutes, and you suddenly somehow feel so small and so great at the same time. You are just a little tiny being, looking at the same moon as 7 billion other people in the world … you are just one of seven billion, you don’t even need to be perfect or take life too seriously, just do your best and try to be happy. But at the same time, one of the seven billion people lucky enough to see the moon and experience this moment. It’s a chilling yet calming feeling.”

The moon belongs to all of us, and it lives in all of us a little too. It’s in Goodnight Moon: “Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere…” And even then, the moon felt like something gentle and magical and far away, but also close enough to say goodnight to. One of my favorite piano pieces to play was always Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, which honestly feels like a song written for the moon and not just about it. And of course my favorite short story of all time: White Nights.

But the moon is a mirror — a blank canvas we project ourselves to: when we’re lonely, it looks lonely, when we’re joyful, it looks like it’s smiling with us.

🚗 A Speeding Ticket and a Little Grace

At this point (if you’ve even made it this far), you’re probably thinking: “Okay is she really writing a 1000 word blog about the moon??” And hear me out. Yes, Yes I am, but there’s a bigger point here.

So remember how I said I drove to the farmers market at 7 AM today to get flowers for my mom? It’s one of my favorite markets because of these flowers. I walk in, beeline to the flower vendor, and then immediately leave. I don’t buy a single vegetable. Not a single jar of local honey or apple butter (though I do linger by it on the way back to my car). I have one mission: flowers.

My mom planned a beautiful Diwali event at her library three years ago, and today she was hosting it again. I’m always so proud of her at these events 🙂 Hence, the flowers.

So after getting three bouquets (oops), I was driving back home. The farmer’s market is a scenic 50 minute drive away, which I always love. I was deep in thought, listening to the Rocky & Rani soundtrack, and … well… sometimes you end up driving 75 in a 55. I overtook a cute sedan, and then there was a motorcycle to its right. No biggie — we love motorcycles.

Turns out it was a police officer, which I immediately realized when he turned on his siren. I I hadn’t even noticed him until he was right next to me and I rolled down my window. He looked over, shook his head, and yelled,

“Don’t drive 75!!!”
I just said: “Sorry!!”
…and he gave me a disappointed-but-kind shake of the head and drove off. I had this split second of panic—Am I getting pulled over? Am I getting a ticket? … But then he took the exit.

And you know what I said out loud the second he was gone?

“Oh shit, thank you universe for not giving me a ticket.”

Because if you’ve ever driven in Virginia… you know. That could’ve easily gone a different way.

🌔 The Bigger Point

This week started off brutal. Work has been relentless. I’ve been sick for days (finally breathing through my nose again, which I’m no longer taking for granted). I’ve just been tired/burnt out—mentally, physically, emotionally.

But then the universe gives you a little gift.

Or the moon shines down in a way that makes you look up and remember: “You know what? I’m going to be okay”

Until next time!

xo

Sandhya

If you would like to celebrate my 30th year around the sun with me, then please click the follow or subscribe button! Feel free to connect with me through this platform, twitter, my coffee and checkins Instagram, my podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Amazon Music, or email me at coffeeandcheckins@gmail.com! If you have any suggestions for topics or anything you’d like me to write/speak about, please let me know🙂❤