The last ten minutes

From my Taipei studio on the 12th floor, I have a great view of Taipei city and the 101 building. But that does not inspire me as much as what I watched in the last ten minutes.

As I was passing by the windows on the west side of my floor, I noticed the sun was setting.

Because of the clouds and the pollution, the sun was easily looked at directly -- a deep-red ball slowly sinking to the horizon.

I decided to take ten minutes, grab a chair, and watch the sun set entirely because, when you think about it, how many more times in our life on Earth will we have the opportunity to watch our magnificent sun go down over the horizon?

As I watched, I calibrated my perspective (as I always do at these times), remembering first, that the sun is not "setting", but rather that the Earth is rolling away from the sun.

Upon recalling this point, I then consider which way is north, and that my location is just above the equator, so I can really "feel" how the Earth is rolling and in which direction we are rolling.

Once I can really feel this, I then consider that as the sun is setting for us in Taipei, it is bringing new light to the western lands -- to the far reaches of China, central Asia, and of course eastern Africa. And because this is December now, the sunlight will be favoring southern lands more than those in the north.

As I imagine all this, I give thanks to God for creating such an amazing universe! I mean, is this a super-cool planet we live on, or what???!!!

I then say a little prayer, in hopes that as the sun brings its love to those western lands, this will be a good day for all those who will rise today.

May this be a good day, full of love, and may it bring every one who feels the sun's warmth a better life.

What a great ten minutes that was! :)