A total solar eclipse, physically speaking, is a mere coincidence of orbital mechanics, and the distances to, and the sizes of the Sun and the Moon. All easily explainable with a little math and science.
The experience of a total solar eclipse, however, is powerful beyond the physics of it. It impacts us all differently and we each have unique feelings about what we saw and felt over the course of a couple of hours and especially in the 2 minutes of totality. There is excitement, elation, stunned silence, fear, confusion, and weeping. A collective human experience embracing some of our most primal emotions. For a brief moment in time, nothing else mattered, but the Sun, the Moon, and the stars.
Upon reflection, I see a total solar eclipse as a reminder to us that the normalcy and regularity in our lives can be disrupted dramatically and in ways we never thought possible. It reminds us that the things we come to rely on can be taken from us so suddenly and by forces we cannot control. But we also take from this experience, that even through such times, there is hope and light, for the darkness that can so suddenly overcome us is only temporary.
For me, after the shadow of the Moon had passed, I listened to the people gathered in this place. All sorts were there. I spoke with some. I don't ever expect that I'll see them again, but in the end, I felt uplifted nonetheless for having shared this experience with them.
