Commanding Attention

For Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I saw the most beautiful sunset on the way home from work today. The sky was painted in dark harvest colored hues and the ball of the sun itself was a reddish orange. I drove over the crest of the hill with it to my left and I knew that it would be just a few seconds before the big ball would sink below the horizon. I felt mesmerized by the beauty and I whispered, “Thank you”.

I’d worked late the day before and had come home in the dark. I knew the next day would bring another evening trip home, so I was grateful to have caught the sun for even just a few minutes on my commute.

It had been a tough day. I’d worked hard. The last hour of my day had given me a headache, despite my best attempts to push one aside. As I drove out of the parking lot to begin my trek home, I replayed the tape of “What am I doing? Why am I trying so hard?” and listed answers that I knew would get me to return the next day. It is a traditional Wednesday occurrence. Headaches come on this day of the week more than any other day. When the US Postal Service announced the possibility of ending Saturday deliveries, I remember thinking, “If only I had the option to cut out one of my work days! If only I could pick Wednesdays”.

But every once in awhile, when I think nothing good can come out of a Wednesday afternoon, I am mistaken. I am shown immeasurable beauty and I am ashamed of having previously wished to dismiss the day altogether. Today’s sunset served to remind me that it’s not the amount of time I have before the sun sinks below the horizon, rather it’s how transfixed I allow myself to be when I stop and appreciate the beauty of what’s there commanding my attention, demanding my awe.