Sunset and Sunrise Offer Us Insight into the Nature of Spiritual Insight

 

As a photographer, I see a lot of sunrises and sunsets. On this particular evening, the sandstone windows at Arches glowed hot orange, and the La Sal Mountains fluoresced deep pink. Later that evening when I returned to camp, I got to thinking about the human experience of spiritual insight. More often than not, an epiphany fades shortly after it occurs, and we are then called to PRACTICE and EMBODY the revelation we received, even when we don't feel the intensity of its veracity as we earlier did.

At first, this seeming disappearance of the insight might feel frustrating. We wish the vividness of the epiphany would last rather than fade. In fact, we might be tempted to question whether it was even true! However, if we begin to view the epiphany in terms of a beautiful sunrise or sunset, new light is shed on the value of the transitory nature of revelation. Even though sunrise or sunset lasts only a few minutes, it doesn't make those few moments any less real than the rest of our lives. In fact, we can make a practice of bringing to mind the glow of those times and then embodying it with every person and situation we meet. In other words, we find that we are able to keep the glow of sunrise and sunset radiance only when we give it away!

The situation is similar with insight. When we share the glow of our epiphanies with others - even when the revelation seems to disappear - WE BECOME the insight rather than simply just feeling it. And - just as the majesty of sunrise and sunset WILL MOST CERTAINLY AGAIN occur on other clear mornings and evenings, so insight WILL return when we need it, leading us yet again to embody its glow for others!

 

Photos: (Top) Sunset at Turret Arch, looking over to North Window; (Bottom) Sunset over the La Sal Mountains. Both photos were taken on May 31, 2014 at Arches National Park, UT.