Friday, February 13, 2015

Maui 4 / Sunsets / Yoga


One thing to do, while in Hawaii, is to watch the sunsets.  Honolulu faces west.  Kihei and Lahaina face west, so this is the natural habit for every evening.  I, too, thought it would be fun to capture myself some sunsets, as they are provided free of charge and some of the most spectacular events for us to enjoy innocently and gratefully. 

The first night we were there, we hurried down to the beach, just after 6:00 PM.  We arrived barely in time.  One moment the sun hung above the water like in the first picture below, and in the next second it had set completely.  We don't have such rapid sunsets up north.  I suggested that the reason must be that the earth is thicker in the middle and flatter on the top.  A greater part of the circumference has to be covered in the same amount of time;  hence, the sunset seems hurried.  Makes sense to me, but shocking at the moment of observation.  

From then on, we gave ourselves a little more time, so we could see the sun, when it was still a few degrees above the horizon.  

It is quite interesting to view the people congregating on the beach for this daily ritual. There is the picture snapping, the last few dips in the water, the sticking your toes in, the hand-holding, the yoga poses.  Yes, there was one lady who sat in poses and then did a sun salutation.  I watched her.  Interesting.

My drop-in class yoga teacher in my home town wears a big cross.  I said to my daughter that I will wear a cross, too, just so people don't think I am a devotee.  

My floor exercises have done me much good.  I have learned to really enjoy my exercise and perform it anywhere and in a confined space.  I need my I-pad, my Bluetooth headset, and my mat.  And I am ready to go. I fuse all the different things I know how to do, and make sure I do at least 30 push-ups, and a minute of plank, etc.  I can mix and match things up, as I feel like it.  I can get through the hours and hours of music I have put on my I-pad.  It works.

If  I wanted to do a sun salutation at sunset (I have not yet wanted to do that), I think I would hesitate, as I don't salute the sun, actually.  I don't know what the Yogi thinks about at sun salutation.  I don't expect he or she thinks about too much, as they are not supposed to think, really, during practice.  

I don't know.  I'll let that one be. As the Bible tells us, the universe pours forth speech in which God is glorified.  God is glorified in the beauty of the sunset.  Something opens up our souls and makes us breathe deeply.  Something makes us love and rejoice.  It is not the sun per se.  It is the maker of the sunset.--Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  Praise Him all creatures here below.  Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 






2 comments:

Hildegard said...

Beautiful, beautiful! And I appreciate your thoughts, especially the last paragraph. I grapple with similar issues as you describe, and like how you expressed it all. Thanks.

Brigitte said...

When you think about it, God has millions and billions of suns. What is man that he should be mindful of him? We can address or salute or thank him only based on grace. And still we can enjoy the sun as much as anyone else, or even more.

What is the weather like where you live, Hildegard? We had some freezing rain this evening. It kept on raining though it was -6 degrees Celsius.