Something almost compulsive, mesmerising about watching sunsets. Driving back from lonavala yesterday, we stopped for the customary tea and pakodas. It was a beautiful view of the valley. I just felt pulled to see stay and photograph the sunset, yet again. Something magical mysterious and even quietly sad about it.
I realised I have many pictures of sunsets. Of course staying by the sea has its advantages. But I began to wonder why.. Why were so many people across the world so fascinated by sunsets..
When I was watching the sun go down, melt into the horizon dipping into the red orange sky..I felt a deep sense of quiet..it was mediative and quietening. It was also a deep sense of sadness.The sun had set. On a lot of things.
Saying goodbye is inevitable and still difficult. After having worked with this particular group for so many years, to reach a point of feeling , my journey with them is now over, was difficult. As I wondered at the pain, it became clear that nothing ends in isolation. With it ends many other things.
Sunsets are synonymous with completions. At the end of the day…
As I reflected.. I am struck by the heightened sense of beauty, of this phenomena and it feels almost counterintuitive. Since a sunset is one of the top 4 most clicked pictures in the world.. I wondered, what am I , what are we really doing as we appreciate, and are enraptured by a sunset..
My favourite Little Prince, loved watching Sunsets too.
The little prince is surprised that on Earth, he has to wait for the sun to go down to see a sunset. On his planet, a person can see the end of the day whenever he likes by simply moving a few steps. The prince mentions that one day he saw forty-four sunsets and that sunsets can cheer a person up when he or she is sad.
The Verge:
Sunset, is like a book mark between day and night. Between the world we see and the world we can’t. Between light and darkness. It is a ‘Symbol of the Verge. Perhaps that is why. It is a proof of the ‘promise’ of the other space, that we cannot see, the part of the world that is invisible…and it is a strange way, of holding on to hope.
“They ran to the museums for paintings. I ran to the roof for sunsets.” – Darnell Lamont Walker
It’s Us not the sun
It was beautiful – Ironical and also funny.
The romantic notion of Sunsets, puts the “sun” still at the center of our perception. I am sure Copernicus would be sighing..
We still make sunset about the “Sun” setting. But if we just pause for a second we know that Is not true. The Sun stays just where it is as it always has.
We move. We turned. And do we churn. The Earth moves around the sun, Just to be clear.
It has Nothing to do with the Sun. But like with everything, we externalise. But if we thought of it like this, it shifts the perception. It lets us know, We moved. We are Moving. We will move.
That, I think is the bit of hope that often we feel in our bodies but cannot often articulate. That, is perhaps what we resonate with as we see this beautiful phenomena.
Seeing the Unseen
The other really fascinating notion about sunsets, is that we see what is NOT there. Because of the physics of light refraction, the sun and sunrays are visible for 2 minutes after the sun has actually set and gone beyond the horizon. When I first found this out years ago..I would go at watch the sun, at the exact time of sunset and marvel at this moment. The seeing of the unseen..with my own eyes. It made me wonder at how do do I know what I AM seeing is really there or not? There is a sense of surreal ness
The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment when the upper limb of the Sun disappears below the horizon. Near the horizon, atmospheric refraction causes sunlight rays to be distorted to such an extent that geometrically the solar disk is already about one diameter below the horizon when a sunset is observed.( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) )
I can understand why in the Spiritual realm Sunrise and Sunset are the highest time zones for manifestations. What is also fascinating is how , other things, simples dried blades of grass also get dressed up and look beautiful at sunset.
We bear witness. That we will be shown ‘light’ even when it is not there.
Not just poetically but in the real sense as well. I love when the Sprit and science meet
Seeing Red.
Last but not the least the hues of Red that are so typical of a sunsets also has a significance, for me. We see red sunset, because that is colour that has maximum wavelength. It manages to travel the highest atmosphere length and density at the horizon and reach us. All other colour don’t make. It’s a phenomena called Scattering.
The spiritual
Red also denote the first Chakra – The Muladhar Grounding and Survival – Base of the Spine – Color Red and Black – Element – Earth Physical identity: Oriented to self-preservation
The colour Red is the colour of physical energy, passion, courage, power, will, and desire. The Root Chakra is stable and grounding.
Red symbolizes energy, action, confidence, courage, and change. The colour red brings passion and strength to your relationships, your life and your work.
The Scientific
Why do we feel so strongly about the colour red, also because it has a strong physical effect.
In some ways, red is the opposite of blue. Red speeds up our heart rate, blood flow, and body temperature. Red stimulates our senses of smell and taste, making us more sensitive to our environments. Red also stimulates the adrenal gland, making us more prone to take action and giving us more energy. Red is a physical stimulant. Writes, Katie Smith, international colour expert
So there is so much more going on at the moment of a Sunset. Our body, mind, heart, psyche is attuned to the base chakra.
And even though we may not always understand why, we are in touch with this deep sense of Power from which courage, action strength emanates. As sense of sacred We use red in some many spiritual rituals. Knowing that we are connected.
I get it now why little prince one day watched 44 sunsets.
”You know, when one is that sad, one can get to love the sunset.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Perhaps we need to be more mindful and present to all this orchestra that is going on, on the inside while this brilliant beauty is unfolding on the outside.
I am filled with a sense of awe at how much we are connected. And feel grateful, that I still think that Sun came up..just now, after setting last evening.
There is Dawn at Dusk.
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