I awoke two hours later to a beautifully and naturally lit room. I had left the curtains open and the sun was nearly finished with its work for the day. I thought about the sunlight at this time of the day. I loved how the light upon the land was always more beautiful in its final hour.
Every morning the sun bounces through the horizon with a youthful energy, craving attention like a puppy finally let loose after an unbearably long caged night. Slowly he gets stronger as the morning matures, showing a brighter light. And then, as it approaches noon, he realizes his passion and becomes confident in what he wants: for his light to be seen and felt by all. At high noon, the sun shines down with a boastful ferocity and the people and the trees and the animals shelter themselves from him. At high noon, the sun threatens the people and if he is challenged by them he will leave burn marks upon their faces with no remorse.
But then as the afternoon comes, the sun loosens his grip because he learns compassion and a willingness to compromise. And just before sunset, when the sun is the wisest but the weakest, he becomes very generous like a grandparent with his grandchild. It is just after this moment when the sun begs the people and the land for more time. And to apologize for his wrongdoing at high noon, he shines the prettiest light upon the land, hoping for forgiveness.
And because his light is so beautiful in his final moments, the people try to forget and they learn to forgive. And because his light is so beautiful in his final moments, the people learn to compromise. When he asks for more time, we tell him that we cannot do that. But because his light is so beautiful, when he begs for an invitation to come back again tomorrow, we give it to him. And then he gives us one more flash of beauty in gratitude and disappears and his trail is enveloped by darkness and memories of a brighter day.
I don’t know why I thought about all those things when I awoke but that is where my mind went and I could do nothing about it.
-A tiny excerpt from my forthcoming novel: Isn’t It Pretty To Think So?
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