Chose sunsets over stress

My wife and I watched a sunset at Kukuiula Small Boat Harbor Sunday night.

We felt fortunate to be there, joined by couples and families on the lawn and the beach, admiring the orange glow, watching the dark shadows emerge, waves rolling on the shoreline. A sunset in Hawaii is peaceful and calming and lets you know you’re lucky to see it.

So, you ask, what’s new? Spectacular sunsets are pretty routine stuff for anyone who lives or visits here, right? We can watch one almost every night, right?

Well, the smart ones can and do. Then there are others, like me, who aren’t so smart.

I mention this because it was the first sunset I stopped and watched in, well, I can’t remember the last time my wife and I did that, which really is quite silly. It’s my fault. We often get so caught up with work and chores and bills and hobbies that we’re in a constant state of rushing to do something, to do anything. We think we’re so busy and our work is so important we don’t have time for sunrises or sunsets or even a nice evening walk. Our value rests not in who we are, but in what we do. So we must do more.

We forget the beauty of the world we live in.

Sunsets are reminders, though, and call us back. Sunsets are good for the heart. They’re good for the mind. They’re good for the soul. They’re especially good for husbands and wives who don’t get to spend much time together.

Sunsets can be wonderful stress relievers, too, because Lord knows most of us live our days overflowing with stress. We don’t have time to slow down because we might miss something if we do. And there’s always something else to worry about, even when we know it does no good to worry.

Many of us opt for stress over sunsets. For reasons that make no sense but we justify in our heads, we chose to live with anxiety, doubt and worry and close our eyes to beaches, the ocean, the sun, the moon, the stars.

The good news is, we can also chose to stop. There is time for a sunset in our lives.

And it’s free.

Here are a few quotes about the perils of stress, and about the calming powers of the setting sun:

w “Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.” — Kahlil Gibran

w “Stress is an admission of weakness, a cry of defeat to the world.” — Carrie Latet

w “Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started.” — David Allen

w “One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” — Bertrand Russell

On to sunsets!

w “If you are in a beautiful place where you can enjoy sunrise and sunset, then you are living like a lord.” — Nathan Phillips

w “Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully.” – Kristen Butler

w “People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. When I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, ‘Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner.’ I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.” – Carl R. Rogers

w “Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting.” – Richard Paul Evans

And one more quote, from this writer: “Say no to stress. Say yes to sunsets. You’ll feel better.”

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Bill Buley is editor of The Garden Island. He can be reached at bbuley@thegardenisland.com