The Biggest Show on Earth
A miracle occurs every day but few people see it.
I must admit that I got out of the habit of waking up before dawn in order to see the world go from dark to light. Even though I wrote about the importance of this simple, easy, but also deeply effective exercise in When We Were Gods, I had gone back to my old ways of being a night owl and waking up with the sun already high in the sky.
In my defense, we are now close to the autumnal equinox when the day and night are almost the same length. Therefore, waking up at 6:00 a.m. to watch a 6:45 sunrise is no hardship. And, I can imagine that if I lived in some northern clime such as Alaska, where the sun is in the sky most of the time in the summer, it would be impossible to start my day at sunrise. In fact, in many a Northern place, the sky does not become dark at all during the night.
However, I live in the middle of the North American continent where I don’t really have an excuse for neglecting my “Sunrise Greeting” during the summer . . . and I miss it.
It is such a lovely way of infusing my mind and my body with hope. Dear, sweet hope. The hope that my soul knows. The hope the my soul yearns to feel a resonance from my mind and body. The hope that can be hard to come by with a life that contains disappointments, violent television programs, heartbreaking movies, and complaining associates, plus lifelong mental habits in resonance with my environments instead of in resonance with the truth within me.
So today, I awoke with a few stars still shining in a grey sky. The dark before the dawn. I did my morning exercises on the deck as I awaited the big event. I felt happy to see that a number of people had also awoken to greet the dawn. A young man with a camera leapt about, knelt, and framed a photo with beach grass in the foreground, as other people simply sat and waited. I enjoyed the feeling of silent comraderie.
A bank of clouds hugged the horizon. Would the clouds hide the sun when it popped its glowing head above the ocean?
Eureka! A raspberry red crescent appeared at the horizon. This was going to be a great show!
I lifted my arms above my head three times to say, “God is Greater,” as I had been instructed by the spiritual guides in my hypnosis sessions.
The young man with the camera knelt in the sand just above the crashing waves. I wanted to, Mom-like, shout to him, “Do not stare at the sun!” lest he hurt his vision but managed to keep my mouth shut. He is a grown-up. He has his own path to walk.
Because of the clouds at the horizon, the glowing cherry-red sun squeezed through the horizon with bands of cloud across its face. What a Drama Queen that sun is!
It is a good life!
