Shine

It was that special time of day when the sun is just starting to close in on itself and the moon is beginning to peek out timidly from its hiding spot amid the clouds. It was a quiet time, but so alive. The crickets chirped dutifully from the tall grass, and a small rabbit made its way across the stillness to settle in for the evening.

There was a single star, shining.

Halfway between the rising moon and the setting sun, it twinkled cautiously as the darkness evened out. But the moon was so mighty and the sun so close, it felt that it paled in comparison-- too small, too new, too young, too unconfident.

The moon had no such qualms, and it soared boldly into the night, a glorious, illumined sphere in the middle of the dark; a majestic orb of ethereal substance.

The star could hear it bragging.

“Look at me,” it boasted to a passing meteor. “I am the King of the Night Sky. See my halo of light and my scepter of stars? You are only a peasant, an uncultured ball of rock and dust. Someday you will be nothing, but I, the moon, will last forever.”

The meteor didn’t spare the moon but a single, disinterested glance. It hurtled away.

The King of the Night Sky turned its pride on a nearby constellation.

“Hail, loyal subjects,” it said grandly. “Look at me! I am no star. I am in a category all my own! I am a circle of splendor and a leader of light. Hail, you silly spheres of dust, and worship me!”

The stars in the constellation cast the moon a look of disdain. “You are only a big ball of rock,” they said. “And you don’t even make your own light! You’re merely a tag-along of the sun-- even simple meteors are more independent than you.”

The stars turned away and sparkled haughtily in the dark. Dismissed and rejected, the angry moon left them and steamed its way through the night.

The little star watched quietly. Perhaps it is better to be small and unknown, it thought. Perhaps there is more that small things can do.

It watched as the moon skulked its course across the sky until all the stars had fled in disinterest and the sun had come up to chase it away.

“Be gone, you silly old King of the Night,” mocked the sun, laughing. “Be gone until your reign resumes.”

So the moon disappeared as the murky darkness faded to a washed-out midnight. It slumped behind a cloud and shook off the light of the sun, much like a snake shedding a worn-out skin. And it was silent.

The sun stretched mightily and climbed slowly into the sky. It noticed the little star, still watching, and smiled.

“He’ll be back tonight to reclaim his kingdom,” said the sun, kindly, “but he’ll march away once I return again tomorrow. Now go to sleep, little star. You’ll have plenty of time to twinkle tonight.”

And the sun turned away. It spread out tendrils of daylight to awaken the land below and inched lazily across its 12-hour realm.

The little star gazed after it for a while, admirant and impressed. Now there’s the King of the Sky, it thought to itself. There’s someone to look up to. Someone big. Someone bold.

It thought for a moment.

But perhaps… perhaps I, too, can be a someone. I may not be quite as big as the sun, or quite as bright, or brave, or brilliant… but maybe I can shine just as well from right where I am, right as I am, right this very second.

It watched thoughtfully as the sun moved farther and farther away. The air grew colder and the moon lurked about on the edges of the glassy sky, casting quick, furtive glances at traveling stars-- but they paid him no mind, so the little star followed suit.

It turned its back on the moon and kept its hope pinned on the receding form of the majestic sun, and a blossom of joy began to bloom in its core.

“Maybe I can be a light-maker, too,” it said quietly. “I may not be big and I may not be bold, but I have a light all my own, and I’m going to use it.”
Some nearby meteors overheard the star’s dream, and they called out encouragement as they rocketed past.

“That’s the spirit, little star!” they cheered. “You’re the only you out there, and you’ve got your own light! So use it! Share it! And shine it! Shine bright!”

And as the sun slipped beneath the curtain of the horizon; as the swallows dove and the bats darted; as the constellations began to assemble and the shooting stars began to streak about-- the little star came to a most remarkable conclusion:

Starting now, it thought firmly, with a wink at the moon, this very instant in time, right this minute, I’ll shine.

And it took a deep breath:

And it shone.