Watching a Sunset, Recovering Your Sanity
July 30, 2013
“I have come to the hill to see the sun go down, to recover sanity, and to put myself again in relation with Nature.”
— Henry David Thoreau, from The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Vol. 6, June 5, 1857
Sunset over the Olympic Mountains from Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle
It is a challenge for me to stay connected with Nature while living my day-to-day life in a big city. Most often I am indoors under artificial light at sunset. I have to make a special effort to be mindful of the setting sun and go outside at this time of the evening.
I did recently watch the sunset from Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle. It is situated on the waterfront overlooking Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Ferries plied the water. Seagulls frolicked in the air. The only thing missing was clouds, which would have made the sunset more dramatic. I must be a true Seattleite to be missing clouds!
“A sky without clouds is a meadow without flowers, a sea without sails.”
— Henry David Thoreau, from The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Vol. 6, June 24, 1840
Space Needle at sunset, viewed from Olympic Sculpture Park
Louise Bourgeois’s sculpture, Father and Son
Sunset at the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park
Rosemary's Blog 
July 30, 2013 at 6:49 am
Sunsets calm the soul! Nice pictures!!
July 30, 2013 at 8:56 am
Well done! These are great. They almost make it look like a whole different place, because you capture it at just this moment, with just this light, which will never be exactly repeated.
July 30, 2013 at 9:40 am
I too must stay in tune with nature–always have been that way. Maybe because I grew up on a farm and nature is all around? Beautiful pictures you gave us today–thank you!
August 2, 2013 at 6:34 pm
I’m watching the most gorgeous sunset right now – pink and blue to oranges. I’m so lucky to have this apartment that faces toward the setting sun, and a lovely window where I can look out when at the computer. There’s always something different to see – and when the weather allows, to hear. No open windows in the evening yet!
I like the father and son photos, but the one combining the hands with the space needle is especially well-composed.
August 3, 2013 at 8:18 am
There is something very elevated about watching the sun rise or set over water. It’s just not the same seeing the sun disappear over residential streets. Being on the west coast, I am more in tune with sunsets. Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to be oriented with an ocean to my East rather than my West. And how does it feel on the Texan coast? Do you experience both sunrise and sunset over water?
August 3, 2013 at 8:46 am
When I moved to Liberia and watched the sun set over the Atlantic, I was completely disoriented. I never quite go over it. Very strange.
And yes – Galvestonians can have both sunrise and sunset over water, although they’re better in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky and a little more to the south. That is one of my favorite things about offshore sailing – nothing but water and sky. Here, I get to see both over water – although it’s not ocean (we’re 23 miles from the coast) but Galveston Bay and Clear Lake. It’s still nice.
July 30, 2018 at 6:18 am
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