No Expectations: Best Surprises or Touching Sunset

Friday was not promising as a spectacular sunset day. There were many clouds on the horizon. However, there was one small strip, right around where the sun should be setting that was remaining clear. So in spite of what was a lost cause to the common eye, I decided to stay and enjoy.

There were intermittent curtains of rain on the horizon, right on that strip where the sun would be setting, over the bridge.

Then, as sunset time (8.10pm) started approaching, the scenery kept changing at every minute, and I knew I had made the right decision. It was so versatile, that I almost felt like I was losing awareness and missing out by taking photos.

The hues from baby blue to golden orange, mingled with clouds in between, started to reflect on the water. As if it was a massive metallic sheet of paper in blues and golden-oranges that someone was flagging playfully.

Then there was also an opening in the skies behind some skyscrapers across the canal, painting a flag of grey (water) golden orange (the strip) and grey (sky) on the horizon.

As 8.10 was closer, the intensity of the colors was extraordinary, and how the different hues of light were playing on different shapes and shadows, from clouds to waves. It was that magic short-lived moment when the whole sky, regardless of its proximity to the sunset spot, starts getting tinted in fiery colors.

 

And then, there it was: you could guess it was the perfect sphere of incandescent fire behind those gray clouds. There were those two tiny spots in a cloud over a house through which you could see that unique fluorescent red.

Just when things do not look that promising, there you have it, the always spectacular sunset. No expectations –maybe in the deep certainty that Nature is never deceiving in terms of display of visuals. No specific expectations, sheer openness and curiosity to see how it will unveil, sheer will to connect with that almost spiritual time of the day, regardless of what it will show to the eye. Spectacularly different always, in its own unique surprising ways. It is always there; just manifesting in different ways. Up to us to be open to the game… The kaleidoscope is always there; up to us to look into it...

“Life is filled with suffering but it also contains many wonders. If you want to touch the wonders of life, come back to the present moment. If you are distracted, real life is not possible. Your true presence makes life possible, and it cannot be bought."
[From “Understanding our Mind”, by Thich Nhat Hanh, chapter 44, The Right View]