Dancing Northern Lights

On only one occasion have I seen dancing northern lights. It was many, many years ago in Winnipeg. Awakened by a squeaky bladder in the middle of a cold winter night, I got out of bed and sleepily made my way to the bathroom, not even bothering to put on the light. I just happened to oh so casually glance out the window. Immediately, I was stunned by an amazing light show that was going on. At least a hundred dashes of white light filled the entire night sky. They were springing and leaping all over each other with amazingly speed and dexterity, playfully dancing and cavorting.

At first, I had no idea what I was witnessing. Crazy thoughts ran through my head -- were these UFOs? Was this the Apocalypse? Surely not nuclear war with Russia? (In my defence, I WAS half asleep). Finally, it occurred to me that this must in fact be the rare phenomenon of dancing northern lights. I had heard of them but had never experienced them before.

Seeing those amazing northern lights was like receiving a special blessing. I felt privileged to have witnessed their ancient and sacred magical dance.

[This photo, taken by NASA, shows the aurora borealis hovering above the earth and filling the northern skies.]