A friend recently inspired me to photograph sunsets. She’d run out of her house chasing them—barefoot in the snow if necessary. Watching light slip through the edge of our atmosphere can be a seductive experience. There is something about a setting sun that reminds us of the mystery of life. Why not give chase?
The sun dipping below the horizon has a way of reminding us just how brief our experience here is. When the sun touches the horizon, we are made keenly aware of our impermanence and our fragility. Yet somehow, we are comforted by its light bending beauty. At its most spectacular, a sunset will lull us into a calming trance.
Illusory is this celestial observance. The sun’s light is being bent upward by the earth’s atmosphere. It’s already one diameter below the horizon. It’s no longer there. But isn’t this true of many things in our lives? We see what has already left. We give chase, as they plunge below the horizon. The beauty of the experience remains, briefly refracted through the atmosphere of our minds. But they are gone.
The sun also rises. Like a hypnotist counting backwards and snapping their fingers, the trance ends. And what was once illusion now illuminates new possibilities. It brings light and with it warmth. All of us reach for that light. All of us chase it. Every plant, every animal and every molecule in the universe is attracted to it. The light is the truth and the truth can be bent. But what we experience is still the same. So never hesitate to run out there in your bare feet if you have to.