February 25, 2023
Last night, the sunset was once again stunning. There is something about a sunset that brings out emotions and thoughts in a unique way. We can glance at the sun, on its apparent journey across the sky, but we do not often obtain the same sense of awe and wonder that we do with a sunrise or sunset, with that little bit of time when the Sun is at or near the horizon. Why is this? Is it just me who feels this way? Is in universal? Is it cultural? The “motion” of the Sun is the same all day long. It does not speed up or slow down. It moves steadily at the same rate when rising to its apex then descending to the west horizon.
Maybe it is us who changes speed during the day. For some reason, are we more willing to slow down, or stop, even if just for a few minutes, and watch the sunrise or sunset, to experience it? Do we do this because sometimes there are such vivid colors with the clouds and atmosphere? Or, on cloudless day, is it the act of seeing the first or last rays of light that moves us? Why is that? We are such visual creatures.
For many years, I was a passionate watcher of sunrises and sunsets. But there came a time, when I had a “real job” in a library, as well as other responsibilities, that seemed to impinge on my time, such that I hardly watched the sunrise or sunset. This went on for several years, too! But that’s all over now. I am back being a devout watcher, an avid experiencer, of these phenomena.
Why is this? Well, one thing is I have the time. But another is that I believe it is just a natural impulse within us to watch it happen. To be there. It is almost as if time stops for a brief moment. There is something core, something primal about it. The sunrise feels life-giving. It energizes and offers promise. It is a new day, much can be done, much can be realized.
If we close our eyes, while standing with the sun and horizon in mind, can we not also feel the sunrise or sunset? We can. We can visualize it and we can feel it within us. The sun rises, and it is a new day. The Sun rises also within you. You are new today, the opportunity is there, to create something new in what you do. A new canvas, a blank page, a new attitude, a new way of looking at the things you do, even the things you do daily, seemingly repetitiously at times, can be seen in a new light.
The sunset is no less. When the sun goes down, beyond our horizon, there is another dimension. It too provides a time-is-stopped opportunity, a time to reflect on the day and all our activities. It is time to recover, to regenerate, to rest peacefully, cyclically complimenting the activities of the day. I often feel a sense of satisfaction during and after the sunset.
This idea of the Sun rising, or the Sun setting, and how, for a brief moment, it seems to stop time: that is Nature at work, a unifying force of space and time, a unifying presence of all that is: including the Sun, the Earth, and you, me, us. We can each experience it. What else does that? Love does. Love stops time.
Every day, the Sun rises and the Sun sets, on the horizon and within you, within me, within each of us. So does love. Make the most of it.
Comments