Week 10: Realization and appreciation

This evening as I was driving, I became distracted by the sky reflected in my rear view mirror. The bright light from the sun reflected off my mirror and into my eyes. As I squinted from the light of the setting sun, I thought about the complexities of light and color in the natural world. Ahead of me was the eastern sky, which was blue with painted strokes of purple. As I looked back, the amber from the sun was concentrated at the center and spread across the horizon, diffusing upwards into lavendar as it hit the clouds and mixed in the sky. It was hard to believe that these two sides of the sky were both a part of the same world. I paused on a side street to snap this photo, which captured the dark silhouettes of the whispering trees. After this encounter, I wondered whether it was noteworthy to capture yet another sunset that so many of us have used for this blog. I decided that this reflection and realization was noteworthy because although I have thought about the setting sun before, the overall experience of this class has transformed my awareness of the light that exists around me. I have come to realize that even though a sunset occurs every evening, the colors and emotions it creates are different each time. I observe and notice light so much more, and I have learned to appreciate the different emotions and stories that light can evoke, even in something as simple as a familiar sunset.