Ode to Sun Ups and Downs

Reader Contribution by Lou Ann Thomas
Published on February 10, 2015
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Maybe it’s because without mountains in the way we don’t have to look up to see the sky, but here in the Flint Hills of Kansas when we talk about our sunsets or sunrises we frequently begin waxing poetic. Maybe that’s more a country thing than one specific to Kansas. Maybe because we live close to the land and the seasons we are more apt to take notice of the sun ups and downs.

Of course, the sun makes no decision to shine or set more beautifully in one location over another. The science behind sunrises and sunsets is the same everywhere. With little regard for landscape, the earth rotates, creating the illusion that the sun comes up and goes down. So what makes these sunrises and sunsets so special? Well, it may be a case of beauty being in the eye, or the heart, of the beholder. If you have ever been stopped in place by the awe of a particularly stunning sunrise or sunset, you know that they often evoke an emotional response from the people viewing them.

Each sunrise and sunset reflects our human understanding of the comings and goings of our days, and this visual splendor is inseparable from our inner emotional dialogue. Sunrises and sunsets mark the ever-cyclical beginning and ending of night to day and day to night. They are the transitions by which we measure our time here.

Stand and watch the sun slowly dip below the horizon line and you can’t help but feel a sense of reflection, possibly even longing, for the day just past. Do the same as the sun rises again in the east at the beginning of a new day, and you might feel excited expectation or promise in what lies ahead.

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