The sunset

Do you ever stop and just acknowledge what a beautiful world there is out there? When you walk home or to the office or passing by places very familiar, do you think when you see them again “oh, I am just grateful that I am and I can see “? No, I don’t expect every day and in every moment, because in this case you would have already stopped reading these unnecessary lines, as you would already be doing this: being mindful.

Today I just wanted to cross over the curtains in my room but the light was a pink-orange shadow on my wall…and what a surprise I had when I saw the beautiful sunset just behind the corner. I just stopped and opened the window and looked. And I smiled. Because it seemed that I was the only one looking at it and realising what a beautiful present it is. And it happens every day…like John Lennon said , the sun arises every morning even though there is no audience…and thus, we should keep doing good and the best we can, even though there is nobody to applause and congratulate us…But today, even though I woke up before the sunrise(I guess, as it was still dark outside) and didn’t see the actual sunrise, I saw the sunset.  It felt so much more fulfilling compared to the 40 minutes of scrolling on FB on the computer and worrying how I am procrastinating as I have a deadline on thursday. It felt better compared to the superficial conversations I had while in class today with some colleagues… It made me feel loved and I smile still now even though the sun went down some minutes ago…I still feel the warmth in my body and my eyes see these  lines in wordpress on the background of the image that I sealed in my brain (hopefully in the memory box entitled “little things”).

This event reminded me of the graffiti Romanian philosophy Sorbonne student who writes on buildings both in France and Romania “regarde le ciel” , or “priveste cerul” which translated means  “look at the sky”. The sky is such a huge source of calmness. Better than the self-help books, the YouTube videos or Ted talks or quotes…because it is nature…and it is just above us. Or we are just under it…upside down or not, I feel lucky to have been part of the audience today even though I didn’t pay money. All I paid , was attention. I “paid attention”. And I also “paid” (gave) a few minutes of my time. But they were totally worth it!

Now, I should recall this picture, like a screenshot on my own brain’s computer, every time when I feel cold. As a Romanian climber said, while he was climbing on the Everest and he was cold to death, he thought of sun and how hot it is in the sun  and in this way he could make it to the peak. Maybe I will try it too. And when I can’t fall asleep at night, my mother used to tell me to think of something beautiful, and in this way I may fall asleep.  I can try it with this sunset now…let’s see if it works.

Picture taken from my room in the halls in Glasgow

Do you also do this when you can’t fall asleep at night? Do you see the beauty that is everywhere surrounding us? Tell me in comments your thoughts on this 🙂