The Sun That Never Sets

April 24, 2022
Oakland, CA
Cool and sunny

I am walking slowly home from the beach in Santa Cruz, California, feeling, warm, relaxed and peaceful, the sound of the waves having obliterated the usual thoughts that besiege my mind. The sun, setting behind me in the west, is casting my shadow in front of me. As my eyes see the shadow, the engine of my mind starts to wind up, at first with just a stray thought or two – “I had better check my bank balance when I get home”, “I’ll have to do the dishes I left in the sink before I can fix dinner”, “I haven’t spoken to my granddaughter in weeks. I had better call tonight.”

Then, still seeing my shadow, “The neighbor is complaining about the back fence. It is her fence, too. Why should I have to fix it?” and, “The City is making unreasonable demands about my driveway and I can’t afford to repave it. What should I do?” By the time I reach home, I will have completely lost the calm and joy I was experiencing when I started out!

I turn around and look back toward the beach. The sun is now in front of me, and my shadow behind. Looking up, I see the deep rose and gold of the approaching sunset, the foam dancing on the waves, the children shrieking with excitement as they run into the cold water, colorful tents and beach towels being dismantled. My worries and complaints fade as I face, not my shadow, but the sun, with gratitude for the beauty of the world and the joy of life.

We do not have to be at the ocean to face the sun. There is a sun in our heart which neither rises nor sets and radiates love. If we gaze at that sun instead of at our shadow, the solutions to our problems will come naturally. We will see that our fear will not solve our dilemmas. The solutions come from that eternal sun.

Looking at the Sun,
Dorothy Deviani

What I have been reading: “A Brief Welcome to the Universe, a Pocket-Sized Tour”, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott. Even if it doesn’t help you understand astrophysics, it does impress you with the vastness of the universe!

6 thoughts on “The Sun That Never Sets”

  1. Dear Dorothy,

    Stunning simple, to the point, and beautifully stated as always. Your words warmed my heart when we first met as they continue to do today. Thank you for your seva.

    Seeta

  2. I have found that…breathing into my heart with love quiets restless mind,especially
    at night when I have gone to bed and all the unmet conversations of the day arise.As
    well as slowing own the pounding heart, which started with all the thoughts.

    Solutions come, but analysis is not needed nor fruitful,, truth only appears when choice is made to not follow the mind’s endless explanations.

    The sun is always shining above the clouds! I loved the metaphor of ocean, shadow, and
    gratitude for the beauty of the world and the joy of life.

  3. Hi again Dorothy. I have been settling in with this image of facing the sun and away from shadows all day. It is so easy for me to see all the shadows around me – what a messy world and people! So easy to get pulled into more and more shadow. And the almost instantaneously change with I make the choice to turn from the shadows into the light of the cosmos, the universe, and love with and for each other and the Earth. Big smile here.

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