(NOTE: Based on today’s The Daily Post writing prompt)

I love the word “eclipse” because it means something so insubstantial. Not that eclipses aren’t interesting and notable, but it’s a non-event, something that doesn’t happen intentionally or for a purpose. It just happens.

Sure, there are other words that fit this description like “sunrise” and even something as pedestrian as “rain.” But “eclipse” is for something that’s grand and planetary but which is caused by…nothing. Nothing other than the arbitrary paths of two bodies.

I don’t know, there’s something magical in that. It’s our human desire to label it, to ascribe meaning to what we have no control over. It gives us some sense of control over it, even if that control is imaginary. If we can’t measure and impact its comings and goings, the least we can do is name it. It helps us make sense of the world around us.