The Sunset Project

Day 1. Yesterday I decided to watch the sunset at Ocean Beach.  My last attempt was thwarted by the fog, and yesterday was the perfect day for a second attempt.  So, I put on an extra layer of long-johns, a sweatshirt and my winter hat and headed for the beach.  For those of you that don't know, watching a sunset at Ocean Beach is not for the faint of heart...the Northern California coastline is usually windy and chilly...let's just say people don't go there to sunbathe.  Anyway, earlier in the day I was reading Brian Swimme's The Universe Is A Green Dragon and there's a section where Thomas and the youth are discussing how we perceive our world and our universe as something "out there," separate from our self.  Thomas goes on to explain that we are more connected than we think...

Thomas: A hardened mind cannot respond to the presence of the moon.  The moon's riches cannot be tasted, so the moon cannot show itself.  The interaction between the rigid person and the universe is superficial, because the sensitivity is dim.


Youth: So we cripple our sensitivity by thinking that we are separate selves that "have" these images of the moon or whatever?


Thomas: And by assuming that our feelings are just our feelings!  Do you see the mistake here?  The human awareness could never know the throbbing presence of the moon and all the intensity of feelings were it not for the moon itself.  These feelings are as much the creation of the moon as they are of the human.  We partake in the great presence of the night sky, awareness rising out of the interaction.  Our sentience, our feelings of wonder and awe, emerge out of the universe.  We could not feel awe without the grandeur of the universe.  These profound feelings are not just ours, they are the universe reflecting upon itself.

Having just read this passage earlier in the day, I decided I'd go watch the sunset...I needed to go watch the sunset.  To be honest, I needed to watch the sunset because I was having a difficult day.  I was feeling very disconnected from the people in my life, from the place in which I live, and I realized that regardless of what difficulties I'm going through in my life, if I am not in awe or reverence for the Earth or for life in general, at least once a day, then I know I've lost touch with reality...fallen asleep (not literally but consciously).  There is too much beauty in this world to lose touch with it, and beauty isn't even an accurate word...can you really describe with words how epic a sunset is?

Anyway, the sunset last night was truly epic.  I felt as though I was watching a sunset for the first time in my life, and it was because I could appreciate the connection, the interaction of the sun performing in the sky and me participating in its great show just by witnessing...just by absorbing and reflecting its epic beauty.

So, the Sunset Project is going to involve me watching the sunset everyday for a month, and if I can't make it to the beach due to work or school, then I have to do something else that deeply connects me with this Earth...whether it be a hike or going up to my roof deck and looking at the moon.  I'm hoping that this project helps me stay more connected, more passionate and motivated...more alive.  Anyway, I challenge all of you to do something on a daily basis, where you can connect and appreciate this world that we live in, this time that we live in.

"The history of life can be understood as the creation of ever more sensitive creatures in a universe where there is always another dimension of beauty to be felt and savored.  Think of yourself that way, as a supreme power of sensitivity surrounded by magnificence."   -from: The Universe Is A Green Dragon