Below the Horizon
I am participating in the 1000 words and a picture. To learn more about the 1000 words and
a picture prompt and to participate, click here.
For the 1000 words and picture – the word options this week
are:
Trees,
Below the Horizon,
Hidden.
Trees, well, I briefly touched on this with a previous
picture prompt with our evergreens, so I’m opting not to go with this one. Hidden, it does have a delicious sound,
something enticing about the word, ehhh, but not this time. “Below the Horizon” ~ “Sunrise, Sunset,
Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?
I don’t remember growing older.
When did they?” I love that
song and now, it’s stuck in my head.
I’m going with “Below the Horizon.” It sounds poetic, doesn’t it? When I see a pretty sunrise, I can’t
leave it alone. It’s rare for me
to be without my camera and thus, I take a picture. I might not ever share the picture, but I have the sunrise..
for that second in time, I captured God’s canvas..
When someone uses the word, “Twilight” – very often people
think of the sunset to dusk time.
But did you know it’s also for dawn to sunrise? According to wikipedia, “Twilight is
the illumination that is produced by sunlight scattering in the upper
atmosphere, illuminating the lower atmosphere when the Sun itself is not
directly visible because it is below the horizon, so that the surface of the
Earth is neither completely lit nor completely dark.”
The below picture was taken soon after my husband and I got
married. I told my husband, “I
want to go somewhere to take a good picture of the sunrise.” I didn’t want telephone poles, wires, rooftops,
etc, in the picture. He said he
knew the perfect place. Man, he
was right! He drove us to the
Bonnabel boat launch. The sun rose
over the water. And no, I didn’t
adjust colors. The water was THAT
golden, just before the sun rose.
It couldn’t have been a more beautiful morning!
I’m fortunate to have a wonderful husband, who also loves
watching the sunrise and set. Our
morning walks and even the evening walks are relaxing times for us and I look
forward to them. Just recently my
husband said to me, “See why I love this time of day.” He is SUCH a morning person! But I get it.. we can take our baby for
a stroll in the neighborhood, feel the cool on our skin, not worry about the
morning commuters trying to make up for sleeping late.. it’s a time
unruffled.
There’s nothing like starting the day with the stars in the
sky and watching as the sun peeks through and seeing all the colors in the
clouds… each moment starting the day off with subtle changes in the sky with a
gentle rise.
It’s magical, almost as if the earth is blushing, those
pinks and light reds. It makes me
think of a dream state, you know the type of dream where you are walking in a
mist and you don’t know where you are going, but there’s a sense of tranquility
that seeps into your skin.
I think as we get older (some call it the “twilight years”..
while others call it the midlife crisis… I think that all depends upon the
state of mind), we start to appreciate the days. Each day, each new day….
My grandmother is in her late 80’s and she told me that she
says a prayer every morning. Thanking God for giving her another day. Sometimes it’s so easy to take life for
granted. We get preoccupied with
the rush of schedules and stress of deadlines. Instead, it’s a good idea to count the blessings, starting
with the break of day.
Sunrises and sunsets are bookends to our days. Our body responds to the light and in
the light, we are able to do various activities. Between the twilight, we live. The calm morning sun is a wonderful way to share a walk with
our son, because such a greeting to the day reminds me of the miracle of life…
of the miracle of our son. And the
sunset, the other bookend, how quickly the time passes… it’s there as a
reminder that each day is not made to relish in quarrels or animosities… you
know the old saying, “Don’t go to bed angry.” There’s a lot of truth to that. Resolve the problems during the day, sleep well and rise
peacefully to the twilight on the next day.
With all the chaos and instability in life, the one thing
that soothes the soul is the predictability of dawn. Change brings such turmoil in our lives, yet it is something
we can count on… but the sun… it gives us a cycle, a day, a calendar, a hope…
that we have more chances… the refreshing faith that we have another day.
“Sunrise, sunset… swiftly flow the days…. Seedlings turn
over night to sunflowers..”
And how quickly the bookends of life will flow for my son as
he grows. I’d like to slow down
the hours in a day and soak in my time or even stretch the stars twinkling in
the sky so I can still hum the lullaby “twinkle, twinkle little star”…
I do admit though… each morning I’m greeted with my own
sunrise found in my son’s smile.
It surpasses the golden hues in the picture and is warmer than the noon
sun. Every night I have the fear
of most parents, his safety and concerns of SIDS… placing my son’s care in
faith and prayers…
When the sunrays barely touch below the horizon, know that
I’m receiving a big warm hug and beautiful smile to greet my day. It’s just incredible..
“sunrise, sunset”
“Sunrise, sunset”
in his eyes…
those pretty blue eyes, just like his Daddy’s. The dark sky blue, the shade of twilight, no wonder I love
that time of day.
Comments
I am partial to sunsets, myself, because I am NOT a morning person. =) But as a night shifter, I do get to see some lovely sunrises sometimes on my way home, and I do appreciate them as well.