Saturday, August 9, 2014

The Zen of Sunrise


 Many may already know, but I started a new job on June 23.  I work at the same building, but now work directly for our Corporation.  Much of what I do is similar to my last duties at the TV station, except I am doing one task for multiple stations, instead of doing multiple tasks for one station.  Trust me, this is a joy.


More importantly, my hours are now 7 am-3 pm.  This is a dramatic change for me.  It has been YEARS since I worked a job where I could see sunrise or even sunset.  When you are trapped in an audio booth during evening news, you can't really take a break to watch the Sun set.  And when you work until 1 am daily, seeing the sunrise isn't much of an option either.  Most of my pictures of outside looked like this:

Super Moon

Or consisted of watching fireworks for events I could not attend, but could look out the door and see 2 seconds of ka-BOOM, before I went back into a windowless room.

Watching fireworks at the baseball grounds

Or even sadder yet...watching the sunset through a TV monitor:



My world is so very different.  

The first sunrise in years
I feel like a vampire, that was suddenly granted the gift of sunlight.  The unbelievable joy of seeing the sky 'pink' up as I drive, the sky changing from dark purple to violet to dark blue.  Watching wisps of clouds start to glow.  The quiet sound of birds chirping.  I honestly had forgotten how beautiful the world is early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

There's a happiness in being able to attend after work events with friends and family and not have to take a day off.  Being able to say yes to dinner out or drinks with friends.  The simple joy of dinner at home, with my husband, even if it is just spaghetti in front of the TV.  

A Glorious Sunset while out at the Beach AFTER work
There are a handful of people who have not expressed any congratulations to me about moving up.  There are a handful of people who resent my moving as a personal insult to them.  Like I made the decision primarily to create problems for them.  

It's frankly very sad. 

For these are people who have been experiencing the joys I have felt over the past month, for years.  These are people who I guess no longer find the beauty in small things.  People who don't understand we are all on this planet together and only by each of us finding our own joy can we make this world a better place.  It's not how many friends you have or how many groups you belong; it is what you do with your time on this planet that matters.  It is being happy for someone else who has been greatly unhappy and under appreciated to finally find happiness.  I'm sorry that group of people is so unhappy that they feel they need to criticize someone else's joy or ignore it.  

It's seeing the beauty in those sunrises and sunsets that reminds me to be caring, share other's joy, console their tears, offer a helping hand that makes life worth living.
The "Fingers of God" stretch out from the sunrise