The Goodness of The Day

Sunsets grant us the opportunity to pause and reflect on the movement of the day. They remind us to take time to be still and quiet as the passage is made from day to night. To experience gratitude for the goodness of the day.

“When the sun is setting, leave whatever you are doing and watch it.” 
-Mehmet Murat ildan

(photo by me, Oregon coast. Sunset)

In our daily lives we often participate in many things that might not fall under the category of “good”, or “pleasant”, and too often it so easy for us to hang on to those things as if THEY were our life threads, our defining moments. They are not.

At the end of the day the sunset comes. It has no judgement on our day. Yet the sunset can give us that moment to reflect on all the wonders and beauty in the world, and in people, that we may not have noticed during the day. The sunset reminds us of things that are greater than our evaluation of how we did during day. Greater than our evaluations of how we think others did during that day.

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.

– Rabindranath Tagore

The raging colors splattered across the horizon, the muted sorbet wisps translucent against the day blue sky: the sunset. It reminds us to give pause and notice the beauty and harmony in the natural world. To reflect on the goodness of the day and to be still and fully present in the beauty of the moment. THIS moment. A time of transition from day to night. Where there is nothing but the sunset. Events , struggles, pain, sorrow, laughter, joys of the day are gone…behind us. The next moment has not yet come. This is what is. It is natural. Ever changing. Impermanent. Beautiful. Miraculous. Inspiring. Healing. Breathtaking.  This is the cessation of the things that maybe are not so important. This is the interlude between misunderstanding and truth. This is the respite that says “Stop. Be mindful of the goodness of this day as it passes. Be present to this stillness and let the silence of the stillness echo throughout your body.”

Staring At The Water

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”
Rabindranath Tagore

Many of us have that “distant shore” we long to walk upon. It may be a new relationship or a new job. Perhaps it is healing after illness or loss. Maybe that shore represents courage or strength. Whatever it represents, we can all relate to the struggle of how to get there from where we are now.

The symbolic body of water that ebbs and flows between us and the shore we long to set foot on, can be small or seemingly boundless. Sometimes our fear, anxiety or  lack of confidence make it seem  simply too big to navigate and cross.

And yet, if we do just stand there staring at the lapping waves, wondering how we will cross the water, we will not get anywhere. There has to be a first step.  Otherwise you will simply stay where you are.

You can wish for things, or expect things. Like a boat, or someone to come tell you there is another way, or for the water to dry up, but most likely nothing like that will come along.……you’ve got to make some kind of decision and get moving.

Start where you are. Because, that IS where you are. Take that first step and place it right on top of fear and uncertainty and then keep on going, one step at a time.

Belief in the possibility of getting to the other side of the water and the willingness to try can mean the difference between feeling like you can or feeling stuck. Even if you don’t get where you’re headed, believing you can, and working toward your goal is more powerful than you realize.

We all stand on our own personal shore, gazing at the shimmering water and wonder how the heck do we get to the other side. None of us are alone in this.  But staring, longing, dreaming, wishing, fearing, doubting, does not help us at all.

Stare at the stars. Stare at fireworks. Stare at a work of art. But please, don’t stare longingly at the shore on the other side of the water. Go there. You can do it.