Difference Between Sunrise and Sunset

The sun is always with us. It does not guide the light, it creates it. It does not disappear when night whispers its laws, it simply withholds its generosity for a while to one of the Earth’s hemispheres. People’s perception and explanation of the world is built on the observations of sun’s movement.

At dawn the sun slides upwards, drawing in the sky the line of new beginning, hope, the parabola of movement, the arrow of direction, the trajectory of life. It is met with joy, as a dear friend, a loved one that left for some time. It is greeted with trust, because it never fails to rise.

In ancient times people considered sun to be the guardian of light, placed in the skies by God. They are realizing now that sun is there exuding light itself, gifting us with food and energy, growth and recreation, and because of it sun is rather God in itself, or that higher entity on which we undoubtedly, forever strongly rely.

At dawn this center of our hopes is blushing, it is colored celebratory from red to orange to gold, it sends golden-pink-purple rays across the sky, piercing the clouds, embroidering them in fancy patterns.

At sunset it is blushing, it is colored celebratory from gold to orange to red, it sends golden-pink-purple rays across the sky, piercing the clouds, embroidering them in fancy patterns.

Wow! What a difference! Just wait… There is a profound difference. It moves downwards at sunset. It slowly disappears from view, it says a confident “Goodbye”, and people read into this “I will be back”. Also, in the evening people observe the image of the sun differently. It is the end of the day, people are tired, their bodies are preparing for the night of rest, their minds are not so alert, a whole different set of hormones invades their bodies at sunset. Rather than getting a great start, and get busy, people tend to calm down, slow down and are more inclined to cuddle, get close, lower their voice.

That is the second profound difference – people’s perception of this cosmic object at sunset. It is different, because in the evening people themselves are changed. There is an element of wander, and amazement, and sadness. The sun looks more like a sleepy cat, or a teddy bear, while in the morning it is surely reminded more of a rooster, or even an alarm clock. At sunset the day is gone to never be again. The fragment of life is vanishing right before our eyes, retreating, dying, to give way to a new day, and new hope in the morning.

Sunset-sunrise, darkness and light, the division of two visually opposite components, but both equally important. The promise to return is repeated again and again, to the point that the retreat and return of natural light becomes an unnoticeable, unappreciated routine, an ordinary subconscious experience. Light’s on, light’s off. Can people even see those two phenomenal events any more behind the tall buildings they built with such devotion? Do they make special time to observe sun’s special moments, at least sometimes? If they don’t, they should, or they can spend their lives wrapped up in forwarding civilization, deepening development of human race, and never care about how philosophically different sunrise and sunset are, each a noteworthy culmination of our everyday lives.