Sunsets and Endings as a Matter of Perspective

In a week when I have lost one of the dearest people to me on the planet, writing is again a challenge.  However I know that Sam (1) enjoyed reading my blog posts, most of which were inspired by things the two of us talked about.  So he would be happy to know I am writing.

Sunsets and Endings as a Matter of Perspective

I don’t have anything particularly profound to write.  I am simply humbled by the death of someone I thought would live forever.  At the very least, I assumed we had much more time together than we did.

The night of Sam’s funeral, I was drawn to the beach to just sit with my grief and sadness. Lake Erie (2) has always been a sacred and healing place for me. The sun, the sound of the waves, the wind, and sand all weave together to drown out the mundane world.

As we sat on the beach watching the sun move through the sky and eventually begin to sink into the water, my daughter pointed out that (of course) the sun is not going down at all. The earth is just spinning, and from our very limited human perspective it feels like it is setting. Somewhere else on the planet it appears to be rising.  Sunsets are not endings but are just a matter of perspective.

So sunsets as a matter of perspective is the mindfulness focus concept for the week.  I know that it is very trite to say that endings are just beginnings, but it is also true.  I’m not in a place where I am feeling “beginnings” yet, but I hope that by focusing on the reality of sunsets I will get there.

For more information on my mindfulness focus word experiment click here. 

Footnotes

(1) Samuel Copeland

(2) Lake Erie, Presque Isle State Park