How is Your Sunset Coming Along?

       

Sunsets are beautiful.  There is no denying it.  It’s a fact.  A sunset can stop us in our tracks.  It’s beauty mesmerizes us no matter where we are or what we’re doing.  Not long ago, I saw cars pulling over on the busy interstate so drivers could take in one amazing mountain sunset.  I have clients who text me, telling me to stop and look up at the sky some evenings.  Sunsets cause us to gather on beaches, bridges, decks, front yards, office windows, and overlooks in an attempt to let out a deep breath and absorb a daily miracle.  Sunsets can make you happier if you’re already happy.  Sunsets can take a few pounds off your shoulders when you’re carrying weight of the world you never thought you could carry.  Many people describe a sunset as God’s way of getting us to pause and reflect on our day.  Many people say a sunset is the death of the day, giving us the ability to forget failures and mistakes.  Some people say a sunset is a promise of Hope we should grab with the next sunrise.  A sunset may mean something similar or completely different to you.  Can you remember the last sunset you watched for more than one or two minutes?

“Never waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that you should be sitting under!” – C. Joybell

               

 

When my family goes to Edisto Island in the summer for a week, we designate one day of that week to be “Sunset Day”.  It is a day we set aside, knowing when evening comes we will take sandwiches to Sunset Point on the island.  We throw out a blanket and eat as the sun falls slowly.  As the sun drops, it changes the whole scene.  It seems with every minute that goes by…with every inch the sun dips, a new and different beauty gets added to the scene.  We have seen many perfect sunsets over the years.  But here’s the thing : Even though we designate the day, and know ahead of time we’ll be going to the sunset, it stresses me out until I’m actually sitting in place watching the sunset.  The whole process of timing out when we need to get the sandwiches and the kids loaded in the car in an effort to – 1. Get a parking place 2. Not be too early 3.Not be too late …just stresses me out.  It’s such a special day, I don’t want to mess up.  If you’re too early, you’ll wait a long time for the sun to set and sacrifice precious moments in the vacation that could be spent doing something else.  If you’re too late…it goes by so fast and to put it simply, you’ll be eating your sandwich in the dark.

                          

 

When I started writing this Blog post, I had a different message than the one I’m about to share.  Reading my own words and reliving the stress I feel when trying to catch the perfect sunset for my family, made me start thinking about the sunset in a different way.  It makes me laugh that I think it’s up to me to “catch” the perfect sunset for my family.  I can’t control the sunset.  Sunsets go on regardless of what we think, do, say, or plan.  As a matter of fact, there is one going on right now as I write this.  There is always a sunset.  And it is always perfect.  So this is my new message :

         

 

The first point is: Let’s APPRECIATE life the way we APPRECIATE a sunset.  I have never heard anyone say a sunset is ugly.  I have never heard anyone leaving Sunset Point say, “Awww maaaan…that sunset was such a let down.”  We don’t look at a sunset and talk about how the sun should have been a brighter red or a cloud should have moved down and to the left.  We don’t try to redesign the water so there were more waves or wish for more birds to be in the sky…just to the upper right of the sun.  Appreciate the beauty in your life…even if it’s just for as long as it takes the sun to set…every day.

The second point is: Let’s SEE others the way we SEE a sunset.  We don’t want to change a sunset.  Let’s not worry about changing other people.  It isn’t our job anyway.  It isn’t our job to change our children, husbands, wives, friends, or family.  It’s our job to love them, to help them, to guide them…but not to change them.  SEE them like a sunset…beautiful and unique.

The third point is: Let’s LIVE the way we LIVE a sunset.  Instead of going through life in a flash…hustling so we hurry through and miss daily miracles…bustling so we’re blind to so much beauty in the day… We should strive to LIVE like we LIVE a sunset…alert and calm…absorbing the blessings of life with our eyes focused on the unexplainable beauty and goodness in the world.

The last point is: REALIZE what we REALIZE when watching a sunset.  IT GOES BY FAST.  We can stress out about getting a parking spot…being too early…being too late…or a zillion other things in life…but it’s NOT going to stop the sun from setting.  If we put our life in the terms of one day, it would mean we’re born in the sunrise….and die at dusk(the moment the sun is gone and darkness sets in).  Do you ever notice that we usually think people die too soon….or too late?  And we look at and examine the exact moment or moments surrounding their death?  We hang on to the moment dusk came.  It’s so hard and takes time but we are much better off REALIZING and focusing on their sunset.  We should celebrate their beautiful sunset they shared with the world.  REALIZE your time here in this world…IS your life…it IS you…WHO you are…It is YOUR day…from sunrise to dusk, it’s YOUR life.  Do great things!  Do kind things!  Add value to others!  Be significant to others!  Follow your dream!  Work for good!  Serve your purpose!….REALIZE… YOU have the ability to stop people in their tracks…on interstates, decks, beaches, offices, hospitals, schools, churches, stores, bridges, and mountain tops…YOUR life can provide others a unique, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, perfect sunset… 🙂

 

                             

 

2 thoughts on “How is Your Sunset Coming Along?

  1. Pat says:

    Great stuff , Anthony !
    Pat

  2. Shawnna says:

    Great timing speaking of sunsets…just got back from wilmington and stayed right on the beach. Tried to soak up as much of the sun as i possible could. As soon as we got there we couldn’t get out on the beach fast enough to catch the sunset! Sunsets and especially Sunrises (I’m a morning person) are magical! Took so many pictures everyday of the sunrising right on the water….amazing. Just doesn’t get much better than that. Love all the insight, wisdom and subtle or not so subtle reminders you share through your blog.

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