The other day, I was browsing through my Google Photos and realized I had built up a collection of images of sunsets and sunrises throughout the last 10 years. It seemed there were many times that I took notice of the striking glow of the setting or rising sun, and I would whip out my phone and take images of it.
I wondered why sunsets and sunrises captivated me so much.
Other than their obvious beauty, was there more to it?
I also recalled commenting to my husband in our past that dusk was my favourite time of the day.
The sky turns a beautiful combination of light orange, red, and blue, casting a lovely glow all around us. Even the colours around us would appear more contrasted at that time of day. We could be driving home from work or going for dinner, a natural calm seems to set in with this colour palette appearing, with the air outside cooling down, a welcome change compared to the heat of the day in the country I live in.
I realised another reason why I loved sunsets.
It put things into perspective that no matter how our day went, the earth still rotates around the sun, and our issues at work or in other difficult matters in our life may be temporal, seasonal even. Time moves on, and so do our lives.
For those of us who practice faith, it may even evoke feelings of spirituality and bring to mind a creator, and some comfort comes from that.
It also feels like a cap at the end of the day, sort of closure, which meant that there will be another day coming, and a new start begins at sunrise.
I hope the setting and rising of the sun each day brings you some joy as well, as it does to me.
Take the time to look up and around you the next time you have a chance, because there is a high chance others around you are also looking at the sky and taking a breather too.
