This morning’s sunrise left me wondering all day. What was it that touched me so much? The magic of witnessing a new day being born? Why magic though? There’s one every day after all!
When I walked up that viewpoint it was pretty much still dark. I realised I had just missed the moon set minutes earlier as I could see the very last rim of bright light disappearing behind a hill. The sun would rise on the opposite side, giving the sky a very peculiar light. I sat myself down on the fence and waited. Slowly more and more people gathered up there. Local people with their merchandise to sell, mixed with tourists looking for the perfect spot for the perfect picture. It’s a bit of a frenzy with everyone setting up when suddenly everybody just fell silent almost at the same time.
In the sky filled with layers of the coulours orange, yellow and bluegrey, slowly the contour of the sun had appeared. Only the upper half and oh so vague. But it was enough for everyone to hold his breath for a few seconds. And in these few seconds I felt the anticipation build up in myself paired with a deep sense of wonder. Almost as if I was not sure whether the sun would truly come up or just say “nah, I’m taking the day off”. Nature seemed to be holding its breath as well and for a fraction of a second it felt like time had come to a stand still. And then the sun’s colour intensified into a deep orange colour and slowly she started her rise. Suddenly, almost at the same time again, everybody returned to their task at hand. The frenzy restarted. The spell was broken.
I immediately felt a bit sad for I would have liked to hold on to that moment a bit longer. That moment of anticipation, filled with wonder. That’s where the magic lies!
Too many of us wake up with an alarm clock, transforming us in robot like beings that get up and diligently start working through the program of the day. We expect things to go in a certain way, and if they don’t, we either accept it shrugging it off with a “it’s like that” or we get upset, maybe even angry. But seldom do we stop in our tracks and wonder.
If you recognise yourself in that last bit, may I suggest you try and catch a sunrise? It is not hard; there’s one every day.
By the way, tomorrow I’m off to the Land of the Rising Sun, in case you are wondering.