I’m the guy who will stop his car to take a picture of a sunrise or a beautiful sunset. The light reflects and refracts through the clouds, producing shades of reds, yellows, and blues to cascade across the sky. Before cell phones, I always carried a disposable Kodak camera, holding it out of the sunroof of my Mustang to photographically memorialize that sky. Those memories could be of a relaxing sunset at the beach, the clouds bellowing above a forest-edged field of corn, or the sun’s rays breaking through the trees in the Great Smoky mountains. Wherever the sunrise or sunset takes place, it allows me a moment of peace.
Some don’t take the time to look at a sunrise or a sunset, and that’s okay. Some think, ‘big deal, I woke up this morning,’ but waking up is a big deal. Life is a gift. And being able to witness the beauty of a sunrise is a peaceful chance to reflect on the joy of living to see another day. The subtle hues change as the sun rises higher in the sky and are reminiscent of the coming and going of things in our lives, but the gift of life remains the same.
Sunsets remind us that life is precious. Something as small and daily as a sunset can be such a special moment. The sun dips slowly into the darkness of the horizon to renew, reset, and rest to act as an analogy for our lives. We introspectively reflect on the day’s events, even briefly.
We could discuss the scientific research that has proven that watching a sunset stimulates the pineal gland and boosts the secretion of melatonin and serotonin; it seems like providing proof of this takes away from the majesty.
Images:
Featured Image – Cumulus Cover by Chris Brown – Own work
Photos from test drive by Michael Sheehan – Sunroof – 2012 Chrysler 300S, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39510519
Lone Fencepost by Chris Brown – Own work
Shadows from Metal Beasts by Chris Brown – Own work
The Pop Culture Kings present The Archives of Wisdom 