The last several days we have been traveling in the islands off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. We have witnessed amazing wild life, some unusual to our Midwestern eyes, and some birds that may also spend the summer days in our Minnesota backyard. Seeing them gave new meaning to the term ‘snowbird’.

This Low Country, as it is called, is the home of the loggerhead turtles, those amazing creatures that come ashore to lay their eggs on the beaches surrounded by marshes and salt water. They live a precarious life. Signs in a nature preserve stated:Loggerhead turtles find their way to the nest by the light of the moon. No artificial light please! I am imagining that in late May and early June many eager tourists line the beaches to see the loggerheads make their way onto the beach. Those same people probably carry flashlights to get a better look at this miraculous phenomenon and can throw the turtles off their natural course.

I thought of the many times I had been thrown off by ‘artificial’ light. Those times when I have been lured by the glow of material possessions, fancy this or that, the fleeting words of recognition and affirmation. Following that artificial light almost always leads away from the internal, natural path. If the loggerheads are thrown off by the artificial light, they will not return to their rightful home. So it is with we humans.

Last night we walked the beach and stood looking up at the night sky. There is very little artificial light from tall buildings or large cities. The constellations, those guiding stars of our ancestors blinked brightly, as they have since the beginning of time. Staring heavenward, the natural lights of our Universe told us exactly where we stood in the scheme of things. Without artificial light to throw you off, it is easy to remember who you are and whose you are…….and the way home.