‘If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare.’ – Emerson

Two weeks ago I went on a retreat at Pluscarden  Abbey near Elgin. The Abbey is the only Medieval monestary in Britain that is still in use. The monastery is inhabited by Benedictine monks. It is set in the middle of nowhere- no phone signal, no interenet and no distractions- just peace. I have been on retreat numerous times now and always come away feeling more grounded, centred and content.

On my last night at Pluscarden I took a walk from the abbey after compline (candlelit night time prayers in Latin Gregorian chant.) After compline the monks go to bed and are silent. They avoid conversing with one another as much as possible and so the grounds of the abbey were draped in a beautiful silent blackness. I stopped at the graveyard, sat on the bench and started up at the sky. The more I looked the more I saw. Millions and billions of stars. I sat for what must have been about half an hour just gazing.  There is something so incredibly amazing about moments like that, where you gain the realisation of how large the universe is and consequently how small you are within it. Every night the stars come out yet how often to I go out to be amazed at their beauty?….barely ever is the answer to that. It is crazy how easy it is to forget about the amazing display in the night skies. We need to deliberately stop and gaze.

One thing I feel that I learn from the monks at pluscarden is the importance of developing a habit (excuse the pun) of stopping everyday and appreciating the beauty in the ‘ordinary.’

I am trying to remind myself that just because the stars shine every night it doesn’t mean that I will always be alive to see them. Of course I won’t. While I can though, I intend to stop and gaze as often as possible at the majestic beauty of this universe – this place we call home.

As stars as been in the forefront of my mind since Pluscarden, I baked these little starry empire biscuits. They are filled with my homemade black currant jam. A perfect treat to with a cup of tea at the end of the day or even with a flask if you do go out star gazing!!