Hutchinson Island, Florida, USA

North Hutchinson Island, Florida, USA

"All Those Pretty Lights"

Sometimes we don't have to travel far and wide to see some of the world's most amazing sights. In fact, this beautiful picture taken just down the road from my apartment at a beach bar on North Hutchinson Island. I've grown a deep appreciation for sunsets after years of hearing my mother declare, "This is my favorite time of day," at every sunset.

The concept of a sunset carries with it so many connotations and notions. Its' beautiful colors awake in us a peacefulness only felt at particularly unique moments in life. The period of a day when the sun paints the sky ethereal colors and sets the sea on fire is a small window of time in which we can sit in quiet adoration and be lightened by the sight. Charles Dickens, in his novel Little Dorrit, describes a sunset casting its light over an English landscape;

  

        "A tranquil summer sunset shone upon him as he approached the end of his walk, and passed through the meadows by the river side. He had that sense of peace, and of being lightened of a weight of care, which country quiet awakens in the breasts of dwellers in towns."

Even more than the peace we feel at sunset, this time can serve as a reminder of how we are supposed to appreciate others.

       "One of the most satisfying experiences I know is fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset. When I look at a sunset... I don't find myself saying, "Soften the orange a little more on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base...' I don't try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds."- Carl Rogers

A sunset can be seen in any place in the world. Tonight at dusk, take some time to sit in quiet and drink in the peace of the sunset.