Floating on the Moon

I came across an old note I'd written back when I first started thinking about the whole Why Your Life Sucks concept. It mentions, among other BRILLIANT adolescent thoughts, that the characters would "see the beauty in the everday". That's what this post is about, albeit I had to travel to Iceland to see it.
I'd read about Iceland in a magazine and had been intrigued. Back in 2000, my family was going to London for Christmas, so I took off a few days early and did a stop-over in Reykjavik. It was absolutely wonderful. However, as everyone probably knows, Winter is not the best tourist season for Iceland. For one, it's damn cold. But most importantly to me, the tourist, it is dark most of the day. There was no light in the sky until about 11 am, and then it set insanely early, like 4 pm. So any touring had to be done quickly. Here is some poor video (I needed a tripod) I shot while I was there:



That music is from Iceland's own Sigur Ros who recently released a new EP and a live DVD that would be well worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing.
The frozen volcanic landscape made it seem like you were visiting the moon. The best part was going to this place called "Blue Lagoon" where hot thermal sea water had filled in the volcanic rock and made a natural, therapeutic spa.
Floating there amidst the snow covered rock in a warm, soothing pool with the steam rising and being backlit by the low lying sun was one of the most peaceful, beautiful moments I've known. It's just one of those moments that hit you and make you aware and you know you are in it and of it and connected to all around it. What the great Spalding Gray called a "perfect moment". I truly saw the beauty in the everyday at that moment.
There was one benefit to going to Iceland in Winter, and I always think about this as our own Southern days grow darker ever earlier and when, as we approach the holiday season, people start putting up their Christmas lights outside of their homes. Look at the picture at the beginning of this blog. That is a cemetery in Iceland. I can't tell you how many of these we past out in the vast countryside. The crazy thing was--they outlined and decorated their cemeteries with lights! The big fat bulb kind, not the small, skinny bulb kind. It was really beautiful. I asked about it, and again, it was due to the lack of daylight and was seen as a hopeful way of fighting the darkness--in this case that means a lot more than you'd think. I'll be putting up my own lights soon. I hope they'll shine through the darkness to reach you, and you too will find them beautiful.