On Sunset

Everyone has their favorite time of day. For me it is sunset. Here on the tip of Africa we are privileged to experience some of the most beautiful and varied. Sunset is the time when the rush and energy of the day fades into the space of night. It is nature’s mark of transition from the day's bustle to glowing hues of the evening.

Sunset is my time to go for a walk, whenever I can. At home there is a park nearby. On holidays, near the sea, or on a beach. When camping, I stroll to a nearby hill to see the still of evening descend. Often in the early evening, I am on the Athletics track. When the sun is low my natural urge is to be outside and see the change from day to night. We need to feel our belonging to the ancient rhythms of the earth, and in it we need to sense the possibility of transcendence. 

Sunset marks the passage of time and marks the onset of time for family and friends. For ages it has been the time when groups, tribes and families started their evening togetherness. In Johannesburg, the last rays signal the ebbing of work time and start of time for close others. In winter we gather round a fireplace, on summer evenings we sit outside. 

Sunset changes my thinking. Creativity flairs, and realities of the world fade to make place for the transience of idle thought and chance imagination. It amplifies healthy friction between sensing and thinking. Daytime is for constructive and disciplined thought. Night is the time our subconscious flickers with vestiges of impressions and unshaped insights. Sunset brings into awareness the duality of perception and thought; deliberate and involuntary.

Sunset is when I discharge and recharge. The colorful hues and shades of the end of day brings me back to seeing, hearing, and almost touching the changing shades of the sky. I can feel the air becoming heavier. In the gap between night and day our earthiness is roused. It is a portal to the mystique of the night. It reminds of our short time on earth. 

The sun setting says life goes on, time is transient, and we have to move on. It is the end of a day, the beginning of night and an interlude to the next day. Each is different. It says that as in nature, life always changes and moves on. The change might be small, it might be big. Tomorrow brings a new experience. 

Wherever you are, may you experience the sun setting. 

In your own unique way.