Sunrise

Imagine waking up early one morning, going downstairs, making yourself a cup of tea or coffee, stepping outside and watching the most amazing sunrise over a lake. A beautiful image, isn't it? And you can do it every morning. It never gets boring, does it? The beauty of today's sunrise doesn't diminish the beauty of yesterday's. It doesn't mean tomorrow's will be any less? What a pleasant way to begin your day.

Ok, let's backtrack a second and look at this with a slight twist. Suppose you only live for a single hour.

Imagine you are living your whole life being told about this amazing sunrise from yesterday morning. Just a few were awake to actually see it, but they made sure to share the story of its beauty with everyone.

It was such a special event that everybody says that all of history led to that singular sunrise, and the entire future will look back on it in wonder and delight. You're told that the sun will rise again, but it's been so many countless generations that it almost seems an empty promise. Most no longer believe it as anything more than a fairy tale about some distant time in the future.

It's nice to be made aware that the sun had risen. It gives a sense of comfort to know that such wonders have occurred in the world. But to me, this story, the way it is told through the generations, is also a bit depressing. I mean, sure, there's the faint hope that someday, somewhere, there might be another sunrise, but the fact that it all revolves around one? There's something sad and lonely about that.

No, what really gives me joy is to know that the sun will rise every morning. Without fail. We may see it, or we may not. It doesn't matter. Just knowing it is a comfort to my swiftly fleeting hour-long life.

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What I love about this image is that it describes so well religious thought. So many believe that the Great Teacher only came once. They believe that this sunrise only occurred once.

They don't see the other days.

And for some reason they believe that if there is more than one, it somehow lessens any others, never understanding that sunrise is always a beautiful, magical, and even miraculous event.