Night under the full moon: A unique Parisian gathering

 

The other night I was invited to a so-called Full Moon Party in the center of Paris.

The host was a guy Rita and I met, when we, a couple of years ago, stayed on his houseboat a bit up the Seine.

He arranges these casual parties at the middle of the Pont des Arts and he has done so, come rain or come moonshine, every month for the last many years.

As I approached the iconic bridge, now mercifully devoid of its plague of "love locks," I was greeted by a cacophony of excited chatter in a United Nations potpourri of accents. 

French people as well as expats from many corners of the globe mingled freely, their laughter and chatter forming a symphony of human connection that was actually quite infectious.

As I accepted a glass of wine from a beaming Spanish astrophysics student, I pondered the curious phenomenon before me. 

Here we were, a motley crew of strangers, united by nothing more than our shared presence in this city and our willingness to gaze skyward together. 

In an age where genuine human interaction often feels as rare as a blue moon, there was something undeniably heartening about this gathering.

I found myself drawn into conversations that, much to my surprise, extended far beyond mere small talk. 

An American philosopher and I debated the merits of finding meaning in celestial observations, while an artist regaled me with tales of how the moon had inspired her latest exhibition. 

As I peered through one of the telescopes scattered about, I was struck not so much by the lunar landscape (impressive though it was) but by the childlike wonder on the faces of those around me. 

In that moment, I realized that perhaps the true value of this gathering lay not in the observation of the moon itself, but in the shared experience that joy can be found in the simplest of acts – in this case, the collective act of looking up. 

The night wore on while the moon continued its stately progress across the sky towards Île de la Cité, and when I finally left, I did so with a lighter step and a marginally fuller heart. 

While I may not be rushing to organize a Copenhagen Lunar Appreciation Society anytime soon, I must acknowledge the joy I found in this gathering. 

It served as a gentle reminder that sometimes, amidst the complexity of modern life, there is value in simply coming together to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us – be it in the sky above or in the eyes of a fellow stargazer.

I encourage anyone, who might be in Paris around a full moon, to set aside eventual reservations and attend. 

If nothing else, the Full Moon Parties at the Pont des Arts give a lovely view of our celestial neighbor – and perhaps an even lovelier view of our shared humanity.