All my life I have been drawn to sunsets. What do I mean, though, by the Magic of Sunsets? Sitting quietly as the day softens into evening, watching the constant change of light and shadow, the sometimes startling, stunning display and array of colours, seeing them reflect and transform the world…as the sun drops below the horizon — oh, my goodness…for me, this is truly like magic, a miracle. Sunset is definitely my favourite time of day.
I recently received a blog on sunsets from a colleague and friend of mine. (Thanks, Julia for the inspiration.) She was writing about the flowing quality, and the perfection of sunsets… What came next, really opened my heart: the possibility of seeing people as sunsets…what a concept! Each one of us is a gentle kind of miracle in our arising, our flowing quality, our manifold gifts and infinite variability. Each person is as unique and distinctive as a sunset.
The revered psychologist, Carl Rogers actually says as much: “People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. When I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, ‘Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner.’ I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.”
This shift is not immediately easy for me because I often come from a place of comparison and judgment — toward myself and others. So seeing every person as flowing, unfolding, changing like a sunset… each person as his/her own individual miracle…is, well, a miracle itself. For example, recently, on a bus, of all places, I suddenly saw the good in everyone; I saw each person with fresh eyes, kindness, acceptance, good will. Each person like a sunset, special, unique, flowing. It was magical and brought tears to my eyes.
The Magic of Sunsets… People as sunsets… how do these grab you? I’d love to hear.
Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity. BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, andgrowth. Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume. Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook. 🙂
PS The two top sunset images are from my living room window. Magical, eh?
2 comments
Jay oneill says:
Aug 27, 2022
It’s an interesting story of comparing people to sunsets. And I very much like your phrases that when you look at a sunset it shouldn’t be with eyes of oil should be orange over here or corner should be different it is what it is as are people. I’ll add another dimension to your Sunset journey I myself and I often tell my children sunset as we’re having an earth can meet and communicate. In our journey of life we often want to talk to those who have left this world. The calmness of the sunset is also a good way for the mind to clear itself on mindfulness if you want a name for it. Opening channels of communication.
Already There says:
Aug 27, 2022
What a rich comment, Jay, thank you for thoughts — a sunset is a place where we can meet and communicate with the earth, and an invitation to mindfulness and to clear the mind and settle. How did you happen to find this post? iIt’s from a couple of years ago. Blessings on your journey.