Counting the Sunsets
Do llamas count the sunsets? Actually do humans bother to count them? The answers I believe are yes, they do and no, we don’t, but should.
So today I counted the sunsets. 20,214 have passed before my eyes; and with God willing I will see sunrise 20,214 tomorrow.
Do llamas count the sunsets? Actually do humans bother to count them? The answers I believe are yes, they do and no, we don’t, but should.
So today I counted the sunsets. 20,214 have passed before my eyes; and with God willing I will see sunrise 20,214 tomorrow.
But until today I have never counted them, or thought to count, or even actually took the time to observe more than just a small handful in my life.
It’s like choosing to pause and sniff the roses; we all should, but don’t and the reasons are as varied as there are people on the planet, but more often than not it’s just because… Not because of anything mind you, just because. Just because I have to fight the traffic to get home, just because I have to get the lawn mowed before the sun goes down, just because I am standing in line at the grocery store, or too busy shopping at the mall, or too busy writing a blog to talk about smelling roses or watching sunsets.
And yet, llamas count them. Well maybe not count them, but they do indeed watch them, with passion. They watch every single one with an understanding of just how important and significant its passing is as part of their life; yes llamas are that smart.
It’s like choosing to pause and sniff the roses; we all should, but don’t and the reasons are as varied as there are people on the planet, but more often than not it’s just because… Not because of anything mind you, just because. Just because I have to fight the traffic to get home, just because I have to get the lawn mowed before the sun goes down, just because I am standing in line at the grocery store, or too busy shopping at the mall, or too busy writing a blog to talk about smelling roses or watching sunsets.
And yet, llamas count them. Well maybe not count them, but they do indeed watch them, with passion. They watch every single one with an understanding of just how important and significant its passing is as part of their life; yes llamas are that smart.
It means they lived another day.
It doesn’t mean they will live to see another day, but it means they LIVED today. And llamas live every moment to its fullest. And so much about my life is measured against my llamas' ways of living; it provides upon occasion perspective, on other occasions passions, and sometimes simple tranquility that could perhaps be compared to what others see in a powerful sunset.
What triggered this today in extreme contrast to my past two self absorbed posts (Red and Black Letter Days- All About Llamas and The Black Letter Day) was hearing on the radio that two children, an eight-year-old boy and his ten-year-old sister, had been pulled from the rubble that used to be Haiti after 7 days of missing sunsets and sunrises, unaware that there was anything significant about their coming and going. At that age I don’t even know if their own potential death is something they were capable of understanding, even though in Haiti I imagine death is familiar to them.
It doesn’t mean they will live to see another day, but it means they LIVED today. And llamas live every moment to its fullest. And so much about my life is measured against my llamas' ways of living; it provides upon occasion perspective, on other occasions passions, and sometimes simple tranquility that could perhaps be compared to what others see in a powerful sunset.
What triggered this today in extreme contrast to my past two self absorbed posts (Red and Black Letter Days- All About Llamas and The Black Letter Day) was hearing on the radio that two children, an eight-year-old boy and his ten-year-old sister, had been pulled from the rubble that used to be Haiti after 7 days of missing sunsets and sunrises, unaware that there was anything significant about their coming and going. At that age I don’t even know if their own potential death is something they were capable of understanding, even though in Haiti I imagine death is familiar to them.
The oldest has only seen 3653 sunsets and in the best of times, would never once think there would be a need to smell the roses or watch a sunset for its meaning and beauty; their lives as children are too full of wonder even more magical than a sunset- even in a country like Haiti. So I wondered if in the midst of a crisis too large for them to comprehend the thought of a sunset even flickered through them; it certainly did more than flicker through mine when I heard of their plight, and I have no idea why.
20,214 sunsets, and not a one I can point to with certainty was a remarkable moment. It bothers me more than a little because there have been significant moments in my past where I truly did not think I would live to see the sun rise.
20,214 sunsets, and not a one I can point to with certainty was a remarkable moment. It bothers me more than a little because there have been significant moments in my past where I truly did not think I would live to see the sun rise.
As a much younger adult THAT thought did cross my mind during those moments. And yet it did not teach me to pause and smell the roses often enough, nor watch a sunset and remember it long enough.
And so sunset, to sunset I bring you one more thing to ponder.
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